By
Lisa Herndon, Manager, Schomburg Communications and Publications
April 1, 2024
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
The Schomburg Center and The New York Public Library announced the acquisition of the personal letters, photographs, audio-visual materials, and more of poet Maya Angelou at the press conference at the Schomburg Center in 2010. (Photo: Terrence Jennings)
In 2010, The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture acquired the collection of celebrated poet, activist, actress, director, journalist, scholar, and Pulitzer Prize-nominated author Maya Angelou. Items in the collection include handwritten manuscripts, letters, photographs, audio-visual materials, and more spanning over 300 boxes. Then Schomburg Center Director Dr. Howard Dodson and then President of The New York Public Library Dr. Paul LeClerc led the press conference at the Center’s Langston Hughes Auditorium announcing the acquisition. Angelou addressed the audience and took questions from the media.
As the Center marks National Poetry Month in April, Angelou’s birthday (April 4) and the 10th anniversary of her passing (May 28), watch the press conference, which was recorded on that historic day. Discover what she said about her friends—author James Baldwin and human rights activist Malcolm X—and her love of libraries.
Meeting Up with James Baldwin in New York
Maya Angelou's collection includes letters to friends and fellow writers Toni Morrison and James Baldwin. Both are pictured here at the Schomburg Center in 1986. (NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 58743098)
Angelou (1928–2014) and Baldwin (1924–1987) first met in the 1950s when Angelou was part of the production ofPorgy and Bess in France. The love and respect between the two resulted in them referring to each as “brother” and “sister.” She shared a story of when they met up while in New York City in response to a question about their friendship:
“The first limousine I ever rode in, Jimmy came and picked me up,” she said. “Jimmy took me to a joint down on 44th Street—really a bar in a hotel, a transient hotel.”
Angelou recalled Baldwin’s surprising response to a man making unwelcome overtures to her. (Time code: 25:21)
Did you know Baldwin wrote the liner notes for Angelou's 1969 poetry album The Poetry of Maya Angelou? Learn more about the materials in the collections on Angelou.
Malcolm X’s 1964 Visit to Ghana
In this 1962 photo, Malcolm X is on the Barry Gray Show with activists James Farmer, Gloster B. Current, and Ossie Davis. Ruby Dee is partially visible behind Farmer. Maya Angelou and fellow Black American activists living in Ghana in 1964 worked to arrange a meeting with the country's President Kwame Nkrumah. (NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 58076718)
During Malcolm X’s(1925–1965) pilgrimage to Mecca in 1964, he visited The Republic of Ghana. Angelou and fellow Black Americans activists such as Julian Mayfield (1928–1984), Alice Windom (1936–2022), and Vicki Garvin (1915–2007) were living in Accra at the time. They arranged for him to meet with ambassadors and speak at Ghana’s equivalent of the U.S. House of Representatives. However, they were having difficulty setting up a meeting with Ghana’s president Kwame Nkrumah, said Angelou in response to the question from the press.
Angelou discussed the challenges they faced securing a face-to-face conversation, reveals the person who had to be persuaded to assist, and what she learned from Malcolm X (1925-1965) from the experience.
“I love him dearly,” she said of her friend. “He continues to teach.” (Time Code: 29:57)
The Schomburg is also home to the collections of Malcolm X, Julian Mayfield, and Vicki Garvin.
[Did you know the lives, works, and legacies of Angelou, Malcolm X and James Baldwin have inspired some of rap’s music? Discover some of the legendary lyricists inspired by the three.]
Angelou’s Love of Libraries & Support of Schomburg Center
Her memoirI Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, which discussed her early years, recounts living in segregated Arkansas, the racism she experienced, and sexual abuse she endured as a child. She voluntarily became mute after her abuser was later murdered. Angelou blamed herself.
She recalled being taken to a library and why they held a treasured place in her life.
“A library is a rainbow in the clouds,” Angelou said. “Each time I went to the library, I felt safe. No bad thing can happen to you in the library.”
Did you know Angelou fundraised for the Schomburg Center? She served as the National Membership Chair of the Schomburg Society when it launched in 2000 until her death in 2014.
Under her leadership, the group raised over $7 million. Support primarily came from individual donors. Angelou also gifted the Center with items such as the only known film of Paul Robeson in concert, Dr. Dodson said.
During her career of over 40 years, Angelou wrote more than 30 books, won three Grammy Awards, and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. Her acclaimed work includes the bestselling bookI Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), the poetry anthologyAnd Still I Rise (1978), and the spoken word albumPhenomenal Woman. She directed the 1998 filmDown in the Delta.
Watch the press conference.
More blogs by Lisa Herndon:
- 1924: A Year in the Life of Future Schomburg Center Founder Arturo Schomburg
- Sheroes in the Schomburg Center’s Collections
- Four Fascinating Facts About Toni Morrison’s Ties to the Schomburg Center
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