Schomburg Center Announces New Exhibit, Black Suburbia: from Levittown to Ferguson, for Fall 2015 Season

The exhibition, in partnership with the National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University®, is a timely exploration of race and identity in American suburbs that will run through end of the year

A place to call home—a dominant theme in the story of race, identity and an ongoing quest to achieve “a better life,” is given resonance in the provocative BLACK SUBURBIA: FROM LEVITTOWN TO FERGUSONa new exhibition exploring the suburban life of Black America post-World War II. The exhibit will be on display through December 31, 2015 at the Schomburg Center for Research and Black Culture, located at 515 Malcolm X. Boulevard at 135th Street in Harlem, New York.

Co-presented by the National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University ® and curated by Dr. James Levy, historian and professor at Wisconsin University-Whitewater, Black Suburbia offers a poignant view of the variety of amazing experiences —struggles, sojourns, successes—characterizing the history of black people who sought the American Dream in the suburbs from the late 1940’s to the present. 

What do the suburbs teach us about the black experience, family ideals, community and racial identity? How is the myth of the American Dream complicated by the African-American suburban experience? These and other questions are explored in this timely exhibition as it travels through many communities, highlighting three especially: Hempstead, New York (site of the hamlet of Levittown, a suburb initially regarded as the archetype for others throughout the nation); Shaker Heights, Ohio; and Compton and Baldwin Hills, California. The collection features photographs, letters, property deeds, personal interviews, artifacts and compelling archival film footage from these locations, tracing a twentieth-century narrative of migration and community-building and revealing a rich tapestry of contradictions and the persistence of hope.

 Some highlights of the exhibit include:

·         Personal family and institutional archival photographs of Levittown, Long Island; Shaker Heights, Ohio; and Compton/Baldwin Hills, California from the 1920s-present.

·         Deeds, restrictive covenants, Federal Housing appraisal "Security Maps" and security map survey forms.

·         Newsletters, scrapbooks and original correspondence of suburban neighborhood associations (in particular, Shaker Heights’ prominent Ludlow Community Association)

·         Original archival copies of magazines and newspapers covering suburban life 

·         Artifacts from life in Compton, circa 1990s hip-hop era: photos and memorabilia relating to  rap group and Compton natives NWA; DJ party images; hoodies, hats, "bling"

·         Photos, newspaper clippings, and other artifacts of Ferguson, Missouri in 2014

·         Census-based color-coded maps of racial segregation in featured cities over time.

Black suburban migration before World War II included nearly 1.5 million African-Americans.  One million of those moved into suburbs in northern and western states, accounting for the first Great Migration. The numbers continued to increase during and after World War II; by 1960, over 2.5 million African Americans lived in the suburbs.

“Like many other Americans seeking the dream of owning your own home, African Americans sought homes in the suburbs as an escape,” says Dr. Levy. “They ‘earned’ passage into the middle class, seeking to find the “cabin in the sky” on earth, with the promise of good schools, safe family-centered neighborhoods, a legacy for the next generations, and a huge share of the American pie that was earned, not given.”

Said Lawrence Levy, executive dean of the National Center for Suburban Studies: “This exhibit reflects an extraordinary blending of the sensibilities, expertise and talents of two strong research institutions. This partnership, which grew out of the NCSS oral history initiative, also underscores Hofstra’s commitment to the study of the incredible diversity in our suburban communities – not just in Long Island, but across the nation and through history.”

The groundbreaking exhibition examines a whole new chapter of the freedom-quest of these African Americans, asking a series of poignant questions: does the Black suburban experience reinforce conventional ideas of the American Dream, or does it challenge it?  What role did the notion of freedom play in the aspirations of African Americans choosing to live in the suburbs post 1945?  Was the “escape” to “utopia” an effort to close the memory of a “slave” past?  In its presentation of images of African Americans existence, Black Suburbia shows both ways in which black life outside major cities have changed but also how the pursuit for success continues to be elusive to those who seek it.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Adenike Olanrewaju | adenikeolanrewaju@nypl.org

About The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, a research unit of The New York Public Library, is generally recognized as one of the leading institutions of its kind in the world.  Celebrating its 90th anniversary, the Center has collected, preserved and provided access to materials documenting black life, and promoted the study and interpretation of the history and culture of peoples of African descent.  Educational and Cultural Programs at the Schomburg complement its research services and interpret its collections.  Seminars, forums, workshops, staged readings, film screenings, performing arts programs, and special events are presented year-round.  More information about Schomburg’s collections and programs can be found at www.schomburgcenter.org

About The New York Public Library

The New York Public Library is a free provider of education and information for the people of New York and beyond. With 92 locations—including research and branch libraries—throughout the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island, the Library offers free materials, computer access, classes, exhibitions, programming and more to everyone from toddlers to scholars, and has seen record numbers of attendance and circulation in recent years. The New York Public Library serves more than 18 million patrons who come through its doors annually and millions more around the globe who use its resources at www.nypl.org. To offer this wide array of free programming, The New York Public Library relies on both public and private funding. Learn more about how to support the Library at nypl.org/support.

About the National Center for Suburban Studies®

The National Center for Suburban Studies® is a non-partisan research institution dedicated to promoting the study of suburbia's problems, as well as its promise. Rooted in the laboratory of Long Island’s diverse and aging suburbs and in the shadows of the iconic Levittown, the National Center researches a broad range of issues at local, national, and international scales. The NCSS seeks to understand the suburbs via academically rigorous research that encompasses the natural and social sciences and the humanities. The goal of the center is to identify, analyze, and solve the problems of suburbia, especially in areas of sustainability, social equity, and economic development.

About Hofstra University

Hofstra University is a nationally ranked and recognized private university in Hempstead, N.Y. that is one of only two universities chosen to host consecutive presidential debates (2008 and 2012). At Hofstra, students get the best of both worlds. Our campus is a leafy oasis just a quick train ride away from New York City and all its cultural, recreational and professional opportunities. We offer small classes and personal attention, with the resources, technology and facilities of a large university, including the Maurice A. Deane School of Law and the Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine. Hofstra University is a dynamic community of more than 11,000 students from around the world who are dedicated to civic engagement, academic excellence and becoming leaders in their communities and their careers.