The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem is in the midst of its own renaissance. Under the leadership of recently-installed Director Khalil Gibran Muhammad and Assistant Director Alicia Young, the Center has expanded its programming and is positioning itself as the iconic neighborhood’s premier cultural destination.
Earlier this month, the Schomburg Center hosted the inaugural “Stage for Debate”, a new event series that seeks to encourage civil and intelligent discourse around the notion of “post-Blackness.” Billboard editor-in-chief Danyel Smith moderated a spirited meeting of the minds between Steve Stoute, advertising executive, chairman of Carol’s Daughter and the author of the recently published The Tanning of America: How Hip-Hop Culture Rewrote the Rules of the New Economy and NY Times columnist (and former EBONY associate editor) William C. Rhoden, author of Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete. The two men had a civil battle over the economics of college and professional sports, the autonomy (or lack there of) of the Black athlete and the idea of an America that has grown beyond notions of race.
Check out some of the highlights from the evening and visit the Schomburg Center online for information about upcoming programs!
