The Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection is one of the nation’s leading research centers for literary, visual and artistic artifacts from Black and African cultures around the world. The collection was donated to Temple by scholar and historian Charles L. Blockson in 1984 and has more than 500,000 items related to the Black experience from 1581 to the present day.
The archive, housed in Sullivan Hall, contains various artifacts like sculptural pieces, first editions of underground black newspapers and poetry collections from Phyllis Wheatley. The Blockson Collection provides students access to artifacts from the African diaspora few other universities offer.
The Temple community should utilize and better support the Blockson Collection as the materials add necessary cultural contexts to an array of different research interests. Students should take advantage of this valuable resource, and professors should encourage their classes to explore the collection, as it will help students expand cultural knowledge, improve research skills and enhance their academic experience.
Hannah Cerino hadn’t heard of the Blockson Collection until she visited the archive with her English class, but she found the experience to be incredibly beneficial.
“I want to get into archival science and things like that,” said Cerino, a senior English major. “So I was already really excited to see it for that reason, but just getting to see physical assets of the history that we were learning in class, like not just books, but newspapers and pictures and photographs and statues and things like that, it was really immersive, and it really was helpful.”
Accessing materials from the Blockson is relatively painless: Students simply email the Blockson librarian with identifying information on what they want to research to set an appointment for a monitored visit.
The Blockson is a valuable asset to student research and using it can be beneficial when finding primary or secondary sources for a course project. Despite being more time-consuming than searching for digitized resources, the unique experience of sifting through cultural archives enhances student analysis.
Casarae Abdul Ghani utilizes the materials in the Blockson Collection for her research and urges academics and students alike to do the same. It is crucial to remind Temple the Blockson Collection is a sought-after and unique resource, she said.
“So what [visiting Blockson] does is it actually connects you to the past, and it shows you that it’s real,” said Ghani, an English professor. “Because with digital ebooks and digital artifacts, those are important too but it’s something about being able to touch the book or the resource, it’s tangible.”
Professors should mention the collection as a resource in their syllabi and intertwine the Blockson Collection with in-class assignments to make more students aware of this educational resource. Planned class excursions to Blockson can avoid scheduling conflicts that may arise for students with overwhelmingly busy personal schedules.
Ghani frequently takes her students to visit the Blockson to research for class projects. She said that after the visits, students seemed invigorated to expand on their knowledge of their chosen topic, like music students learning about the contributions of Black opera singers.
“What’s most endearing for me is that the students know that they can accomplish [their] research projects,” Ghani said. “Every semester, I never get the same type of research, and that’s exciting because when you are in the archive, we have different ways of understanding the information.”
Temple has an R1 classification, which indicates the university meets specific quotas to be deemed a cutting-edge research institution. One of those requirements is at least $5 million in research expenditures. Considering Temple’s R1 status, resources like Blockson should be the pinnacle of pride for the university and a major source of knowledge for its students.
Even though the materials inside Blockson are from concern distinct cultures, exploring multiculturalism provides a nuanced understanding of historical contexts.
The Blockson falls under the umbrella of Temple’s university libraries along with Charles Library and Special Collections Research Center. Many professors already direct students to utilize the archives of the SCRC, but it’s crucial for them to encourage equal interest in the Blockson.
Elizabeth Allendoerfer believes the Blockson Collection should be a more properly advertised resource at Temple as it was never mentioned on her or her friends’ campus tour.
“I’ve been [in] that SCRC room six times or something and I’ve been to the Blockson collection one time,” said Allendorfer, a senior history major and president of Temple’s undergraduate history club. “We house and [should] protect this piece of history.”
The Blockson Collection is a useful resource and a collective effort from students and faculty is crucial to encourage Temple to prioritize it as a unique element of the university. Temple administration should promote it more, but in the meantime, professors should encourage students to use the Blockson Collection and students should consider visiting it to accomplish their individual research goals.
It’s paramount for students to be guided into the Blockson collection and take advantage of it because it contains original copies of manuscripts, limited versions of pamphlets and other unique materials. Educating students on how to navigate the collection, pull resources and think critically about its contents can open the doors for new and exciting research from the student body.
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