Fisk University will sponsor a half-day transcribe-a-thon for “Remaking the World of Arturo Schomburg,” a digital humanities project on Schomburg’s life and work. Arturo Schomburg is most known for launching what became the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, but he also founded Fisk University’s Negro Collection in 1931. This project is the first partnership between Fisk University and the Schomburg Center.

Nashville, March 2025 - Fisk University will host a half-day transcribe-a-thon on Saturday, April 5, 2025 as part of the “Remaking the World of Arturo Schomburg” digital edition project. Schomburg is most known for helping to launch what became the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York City, but he was also founding curator of Fisk’s Negro Collection in 1931. Last year, Fisk celebrated Schomburg’s 150th birthday with a joint transcribe-a-thon in Harlem and Nashville. Fisk students worked with Schomburg Center volunteers to transcribe just over 200 pages of material. This year, local educators will transcribe more documents here in Nashville as this project raises awareness about Schomburg’s ties to the city.

Arturo Schomburg (1874-1938), the African diaspora’s most famous bibliophile, immigrated to New York City from Puerto Rico in 1891. Once settled, he founded the Negro Society for Historical Research and modeled a diasporic approach to studying Black culture. In 1926, Schomburg sold his personal library of books and manuscripts about Africa and the African diaspora to the New York Public Library, and, in essence, he seeded what would become the Schomburg Center in New York. The bibliophile began his second major archive in 1931 when he founded Fisk University’s Negro Collection. As curator, Schomburg assisted both professors and students, and he occasionally lectured for nearby institutions during his brief time in Nashville. Schomburg would stay at Fisk for only a year before returning to Harlem.

“Remaking the World of Arturo Schomburg” marks the first partnership between the John Hope and Aurelia E. Franklin Library at Fisk University and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Joy Bivins, Director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture states, “The Schomburg Center is proud to partner with Fisk University in this significant project which seeks to make more visible the visionary work of Arturo Schomburg, especially during this moment when the legitimacy of Black and Ethnic Studies is under attack. Schomburg’s work remains critical to our understanding of the contributions of Black scholars, of all kinds, to amend narratives that seek to render people of African descent invisible.” DeLisa Minor Harris, Director of Library Services at Fisk, adds, “we are excited about this important partnership that brings together two of the nation’s leading institutions for Black collections and research. Arturo Schomburg’s innovative work transformed Fisk’s collections, and the project will ensure all generations know and can appreciate the critical legacy and journey of Arturo Schomburg through the digital edition.”

In content and concept, “Remaking the World of Arturo Schomburg” reanimates Schomburg’s vision for a network of researchers and repositories committed to preserving Black diasporic thought. As project hubs, Fisk University and the Schomburg Center continue the historic role played by Black special collections in scholarly publishing.

About the Fisk University John Hope and Aurelia E. Franklin Library

The John Hope and Aurelia E. Franklin Library is an active and vibrant part of the University’s diverse academic community. As the academic hub of the university, the library supports the academic programs by providing books, electronic resources, and other materials and information instruction. Fisk’s Special Collections is a major national resource for the study of the African-American experience. Learn more at www.fisk.edu/academics/library/.

About Fisk University

Fisk University is ranked #6 among historically Black universities, according to U.S. News and World Report, and is the oldest institution of higher learning in Nashville, Tennessee. Fisk’s outstanding faculty and students continue to enhance the University’s international reputation for academic excellence. Its scholars continue to make strides in all areas of industry from Social Justice to the sciences. A Fisk education prepares students to become beacons of service in their community and leaders and scholars in their respective fields. Fisk offers more than 20+ undergraduate and graduate programs in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Clinical Psychology with a bridge Masters to Ph.D. programs through a partnership with Vanderbilt University. Learn more at www.fisk.edu.