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Schomburg Centennial Festival

SATURDAY, JUNE 14, 2025
11 AM - 7 PM

515 Malcolm X Boulevard | 135th Street between Malcolm X Blvd and Adam Clayton Powell Blvd

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FESTIVAL OPENING

11 AM  Langston Hughes Auditorium 

OPENING PERFORMANCE

Live Parade with Brooklyn United Marching Band

SPECIAL TRIBUTE

Revolutionary Dreams: 

A Tribute to Nikki Giovanni

KEYNOTE

Raquel Willis, The Risk It Takes to Bloom: On Life and Liberation

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Langston Hughes Auditorium

 

Opening Performance

Brooklyn United Marching Band 

Join the parade starting outside at the Zora Neale Hurston stage

Revolutionary Dreams: A Tribute to Nikki Giovanni

Featuring Schomburg Junior Scholars Anisah Abdur-Rahman and Skylar Bowery.  More to join. 

KEYNOTE CONVERSATION

Featuring Raquel Willis The Risk It Takes to Bloom 

Moderated by Mecca Jamilah Sullivan, Ph.D.

WATCH HERE

The South Has Something to Say | WATCH HERE

Kiese Laymon, City Summer, Country Summer
Imani Perry, Black in Blues
Maurice Carlos Ruffin, The American Daughters
Moderator: DéLana R. A. Dameron, Redwood Court

That's How They Get You---The Game Show | WATCH HERE

Celebrating the new anthology collection That’s How They Get You: An Unruly Anthology of Black American Humor, Damon Young and fellow contributors Mahogany L. Browne, Wyatt Cenac, Hillary Crosley Coker, Alexander Hardy, Clover Hope, Shamira Ibrahim, and Ladan Osman compete in an absurd Black trivia game show featuring pop culture, history, literature, and more. 

The Art of Cultural Criticism | WATCH HERE

Roxane Gay
Nan Collymore, Contemporary And

Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker
Moderator: Daniella Brito

Storytelling and Suspense in Contemporary Fiction | WATCH HERE

Iris Mwanza, The Lions’ Den
Yasmin Angoe, No What She Seems

Moderator: Brittany Luse, host, It's Been a Minute

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James Baldwin Stage Outdoors

Literary Disruptors – Building a Literary Market | WATCH HERE

Glory Edim, founder of Well-Read Black Girl and author of Gather Me: A Memoir in Praise of the Books That Saved Me

OlaRonke Akinmowo, founder of the Free Black Women's Library

Valerie Brandes, British publisher, founder and CEO of Jacaranda Books

Moderator: Leslie-Ann Murray, Brown Girl Book Lover

In conversation: Howard W. French | WATCH HERE

 Born in Blackness: Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World, 1471 to the Second World War and the upcoming title, The Second Emancipation: Nkrumah, Pan-Africanism, and Global Blackness at High Tide

Moderator: Brian Jones, PhD, Director, NYPL Center for Educators & Schools

Roots and Routes: Perspectives on Culture and Identity | WATCH HERE
Morgan Jerkins, Zeal, A Novel
Alejandro Heredia, Loca, A Novel

Moderator: Leslie-Ann Murray, Brown Girl Book Lover

In conversation: Tricia Hersey | WATCH HERE

We Will Rest!: The Art of Escape

Moderator: Glory Edim, Well-Read Black Girl

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OCTAVIA E. BUTLER STAGE 

RAIN UPDATE: Programs have moved indoors and will take place inside the

Countee Cullen Library auditorium at 104 W. 136th Street (around the corner

from the Schomburg Center).

Black Utopias: Imagining Alternative Futures Through Literature | WATCH HERE

Cebo Campbell, Sky Full of Elephants

Andrea Hairston, Archangels of Funk

Clarence A. Haynes, The Ghosts of Gwendolyn Montgomery (Expected June 17, 2025)

Moderators: Erika Hardison, Fabulize Magazine Presents: MSAB! Mixtape Vol.1 and  

Isis Asare, Sistah Scifi

Inside MEGASCOPE | WATCH HERE

Anthony Pugh, Devour

Anita Okoye, Marvel Comics

Chuck CollinsBounce!, Altar to an Erupting Sun

Moderator: TJ Sterling, RAE Comics

Beyond the Stars​ | WATCH HERE

Sheree Renée Thomas, Nine Bar Blues, Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora
Ibi Zoboi, (S)Kin
Tochi Onyebuchi, Harmattan Season: A Novel

Moderator: Dedren Snead

A VERY BLACK COSPLAY SHOWCASE

Join us for A Very Black Cosplay Showcase. Participation is open to attendees of all ages and skill levels.

Wanna join the show? Sign up below (slots are limited).

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BLOCK PARTY

RAIN UPDATE: Check back between 2-2:30PM 

LIVE MUSIC 

D-Nice

With his journey taking him from the streets of Harlem all the way to The White House, Derrick “D-Nice” Jones is not only a pillar of hip-hop but is continuing to steer pop culture. The legendary artist, DJ, and photographer has moved millions on wax, on stage, and online with his revolutionary virtual “Club Quarantine”. Glad to have him back in Harlem to celebrate our centennial!

The Soapbox Presents: Stoop Sessions

The Soapbox Presents: Stoop Sessions brings live music and electrifying performances to the festival stage, featuring a fantastic band and spotlighting the new icons of Harlem.

Slick Rick 

THE RULER RETURNS! Hip-hop legend Slick Rick returns to the stage with a live performance with Soapbox Presents, celebrating the release of Victory—his first album in 26 years—dropping June 13, 2025.

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Zora Neale Hurston Stage Outdoors

RAIN UPDATE: Programs have moved indoors and will take place inside the

the Schomburg Center in the Latimer Gallery.

Join us at the poetry, live readings, and author chats.

POETRY FOR OUR TIME Melania Luisa Marte, Plantains and Our Becoming

WATCH HERE 
 
George M. Johnson, All Boys Aren’t Blue

WATCH HERE 


POETRY FOR OUR TIME Samiya Bashir, I Hope This Helps

WATCH HERE 

Mahogany L. Browne, A Bird in the Air Means We Can Still Breathe (YA)

WATCH HERE 

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AARON DOUGLAS READING ROOM

PERSONAL STORYTELLING WORKSHOP

Presented by The Moth

As a participant in a Moth workshop, you can shape a life experience of your choosing into a well-crafted story! You will be guided by experienced Moth instructors who will help you recognize the elements of a compelling story, explore a true personal story, and connect more deeply with others in the room.

Instructor: Devan Sandiford

Following Toni's Lead: Black Editors Shaping Literature Today  | WATCH HERE

Dana A. Williams, Toni at Random: The Iconic Writer's Legendary Editorship

Chris Jackson, EVP, Publisher, & Editor-in-Chief One World

Jennifer Baker, Editorial Director of Storehouse Voices

Moderator: Yahdon Israel, Sr. Editor, Simon & Schuster

How to Draw Black Comic Books  | WATCH HERE

Tim Fielder, Illustrator, Concept Designer, Cartoonist, and Animator

Akinseye Brown, Artist, Illustrator, and Writer

Comics To Cartoons: Adapting Sequential Art To The Screen  | WATCH HERE

David Crownson, Harriet Tubman: Demon Slayer, Killer Bee
Roye Okupe, Iyanu 
Moderator: Karama Horne, Lion Forge Entertainment, theblerdgurl

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MANUSCRIPTS, ARCHIVES AND RARE BOOKS Reading Room

 

THIS COULD BE LOVE | WATCH HERE

Chukwuebuka IbehBlessings

Ani Kayode SomtochukwuAnd Then He Sang a Lullaby

Moderator: B.A. Parker, co-host of NPR's Code Switch

Who We Are, How We Tell It: Stories of Community and Public Spaces | WATCH HERE

Katie Mitchell, Prose to the People

Irvin Weathersby, Jr., In Open Contempt

Moderator: Joy Bivins, Director, Schomburg Center

A Literary Life and Career | WATCH HERE

Tina Andrews, Queen Charlotte Sophia: A Royal Affair

Seph Rodney, Artist as Writers: Living and Sustaining a Creative Life

Tre JohnsonBlack Genius

Karon F. TabornWalking Harlem: The Ultimate Guide to the Cultural Capital of Black America

Moderator: Steven G. Fullwood, Co-Editor of Artist As Writers: Living and Sustaining a Creative Life

FUTURE HISTORIES: NEW WAYS OF TELLING DIFFICULT HISTORIES OF VIOLENCE | WATCH HERE

Chigozie Obioma, The Road to the Country

Ivana Akotowaa OforiThe Year of Return

Moderator: Dr. Benjamin Talton, Director, Moorland-Spingarn Research Center

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KIDS CLUBHOUSE Outdoors

11:00 AM |  Woke Baby---RAIN UPDATE: Woke Baby will take place inside the Countee Cullen Library-James Weldon Johnson Storytime Room at 104 W. 136th Street (Around the corner from the Schomburg Center)

Presented by Mahongany L. Browne

A family-friendly celebration of justice-oriented children’s books, featuring storytelling, baby yoga, music, an art table, back-to-back book readings and signings. And this year, enjoy a special tribute to Nina Simone. 

 

Guest readers and authors: ​Mahogany L. Browne (Woke Baby), Miamichelle N. Abad (The Mother’s Day Parade, The Mysterious Patch of Fur), Denise Rosario Adusei (Cesaria Feels the Beat), Kortney Nash (Tell Me About Juneteenth), Omar Holmon, Bemi, Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz, Ayana Walker, Jive Poetic, Rio Cortez (The River Is My Ocean), Kevin Noble Maillard (Fry Bread), and Tongo Eisen-Martin

RAIN UPDATE: A selection of programs from the Kids Clubhouse will take place inside the Countee Cullen Library-James Weldon Johnson Storytime Room at 104 W. 136th Street. 

1:30 PM |  Jump Up Jamboree

Presented by Rev.  Malika Lee Whitney, Pickney Productions

Join us for an Afro-Caribbean cultural program celebrating the time honored traditions of storytelling and folkways, which preserve legacy for generation. With lively musical accompaniment, families are transported to an island experience right in the heart of Harlem.

2:45 PM | Sharon Gordon, SHERIBABY: A Little Girl’s Big Voice in Post-Independence Jamaica

3:15 PM | Lift Every Page Storytime

Dorothy Price, Daddy-Daughter Day

Ajuan Mance, What Do Brothas Do All Day?

Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, Hold Them Close: A Love Letter to Black Children

4:15 PM | Books N Bros: A Young Brothers' Advice On Good Reads

Sidney Keys III, Books & Bros: 44 Inspiring Books for Black Boys

4:45 PM | Double Dutch Dreamz Get Your Jump On! 

A fun filled experience for all ages. Join the rhythm of happy feet jumping rope in

community along with poetic rhymes and tricks too. Yes, it’s something you can do.

KIDS
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