For 95 years, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture has preserved, protected, and fostered a greater understanding of the Black experience through its collections, exhibitions, programs, and scholarship. In response to the uprisings across the globe demanding justice for Black lives, the Schomburg Center has created a Black Liberation Reading List. The 95 titles on the list represent books we and the public turn to regularly as activists, students, archivists, and curators, with a particular focus on books by Black authors and those whose papers we steward.

Most of the #Schomburg95 books are available digitally for free via The New York Public Library’s SimplyE e-reader app on iOS and Android. Many are also available from the Schomburg Shop, along with a dedicated array of books and materials chronicling global Black culture.