Charles L. Blockson, celebrated historian of African American culture, scholar, and prolific author, has died at 89
He passed on other pursuits to amass one of the world's largest historical collections related to people of African descent. "I relished what I did as a collector," he said. "It lasted longer."
Charles L. Blockson, world-renowned historian of African American culture, founder and curator emeritus of the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection at Temple University, award-winning scholar, and prolific author, died Wednesday, June 14, at his home in Gwynedd. He was 89.
Reared in Norristown and told by a white teacher in fourth grade that Black people had no history worthy of study, Mr. Blockson went on to assemble two of the world’s largest collections of African American history, culture, and contributions. In addition to the aggregation at Temple, the Charles L. Blockson Collection of African-Americana and the African Diaspora resides at Pennsylvania State University, Mr. Blockson’s alma mater.
Mr. Blockson was an authority on the Underground Railroad and the Great Migration of the early 1900s, and his trove of nearly a million books, documents, photographs, letters, posters, slave narratives, sheet music, original phonograph recordings, and countless other artifacts at Temple and Penn State provide uniquely comprehensive and intimate perspectives of the African American experience.
» READ MORE: Charles Blockson dedicated his life to collecting Black history. Here are 23 notable items from the archive.
In 2017, when he received the 2016 Philadelphia Award for community service, Mr. Blockson told The Inquirer he was driven to “uncovering the history of our past in order to build a better future.” In 2013, he told the newspaper his collections are “a legacy that comes primarily from books and the people I met, all kinds of people of all ages. I am emeritus and all, but I will never retire. … I’m following a noble tradition from those who paved the way for me.”
He donated Harriet Tubman’s signed hymnal and other personal items he received to the National Museum of African American History and Culture at Washington’s Smithsonian Institution in 2016, and the Centre Theater in Norristown houses the Charles L. Blockson Exhibition.
The cause of Mr. Blockson’s death has not be disclosed. “I and countless others will carry my father’s memory in our hearts and will find comfort and strength in the profound and impactful legacy he leaves behind,” said his daughter Noelle.
State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta said Thursday that he will introduce legislation to mark Mr. Blockson’s Dec. 16 birthday as a state holiday. “Charles Blockson is a giant of a man,” Kenyatta said. “He is a hero.”
Mr. Blockson revered historian Arturo Alfonso Schomburg and traveled the world to assemble his own historical collections. He visited bookstores, antiques shops, and church bazaars in Norristown, Philadelphia, New York, and elsewhere in search of items that revealed the history of African Americans.
Much of his research focused on activities in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, and he discovered that Washington Square in Society Hill once had slave auctions. “The biggest lie they ever told us was that Philadelphia was the City of Brotherly Love,” he told a local audience in 1992.
He spoke with Alex Haley, Langston Hughes, Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Paul Robeson, Ethel Waters, and Marian Anderson, and told The Inquirer in 2013: “I met about six legends of the Harlem Renaissance.” He learned that more than 2,000 Black soldiers fought with George Washington in the Revolutionary War and told listeners at Villanova University in 1990: “Nobody ever told me that. Isn’t it important for our children to know that Black people took part in shaping the country?”
He was the first African American to write a cover story for National Geographic magazine, and he published more than a dozen books, including 1977′s Black Geneology.
Mr. Blockson was cofounder of the African American Museum in Philadelphia and a founding member of the Pennsylvania Black history committee of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. He was past president of the Pennsylvania Abolition Society, chairman of the National Park Service Underground Railroad advisory committee, and director of the Philadelphia African American Pennsylvania state marker project.
He lectured locally and around the world, and received a Distinguished Alumni Award from Penn State and honorary doctorate degrees from Lincoln, Holy Family, and Villanova Universities. “He encouraged everyone to document their histories,” said Diane Turner, curator of the Blockson collection at Temple.
Charles Leroy Blockson was born in 1933 and graduated from Norristown High School. He was a Boy Scout and star in track and football. He won the shot put at the 1948 Junior Olympics and was invited to play for the NFL’s New York Giants in 1956.
He graduated from Penn State and eschewed professional football and other interests to travel the world in search of people and relics that document African American history. He married Elizabeth Parker in 1958, and they had daughter Noelle. They later divorced. His wife died earlier.
Mr. Blockson owned a large assortment of vinyl recordings of music and orations, and shared his personal collection of historical items with anyone who showed interest. “Visiting his house was like going to a museum,” said his niece Tracy Jackson.
He enjoyed watching football and other sports on TV, and is a member of the Norristown High School athletic hall of champions.
“We were in awe of him,” his niece said. “He had an air of distinction. He constantly encouraged us to know about history and understand where we came from. He lived his passion.”
» READ MORE: Charles Blockson’s grade school teacher told him Black people have no history. He set out to prove her wrong.
In addition to his daughter and niece, Mr. Blockson is survived by three sisters, a brother, and other relatives. Two brothers and a sister died earlier.
A memorial service and celebration of his life are to be held later.
Donations in his name may be made to the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection Endowment, Institutional Advancement Temple University, Conwell Hall, 7th Floor, 1801 N. Broad St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19122.