Title
Honoring and Congratulating Charles L. Blockson on his Career as an Educator in African-American Studies, Collector of African and African-American Artifacts and Wishing Him Well on his Upcoming Retirement.
Body
WHEREAS, Charles L. Blockson was born on December 16, 1933 in Norristown, Pennsylvania; and
WHEREAS, He graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 1956 and during his early career taught local and multicultural history while serving as a human relations advisor for the Norristown Area School District; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Blockson traveled around the world collecting rare African, African-American and African-Caribbean publications, some dating back to the sixteenth century; and
WHEREAS, In 1982, Mr. Blockson donated his collection to Temple University and began serving as the curator; he preferred Temple over other prestigious repositories, including the Library of Congress, because Temple is located in the heart of an African-American community; and
WHEREAS, The collection includes first-edition works by Phyllis Wheatly and W.E.B. DuBois; Paul Robeson's sheet music; narratives by Sojourner Truth and Frederick Douglas, thousands of photographs and more than 500,000 items including rare books, manuscripts, prints, letters and archived issues of the Philadelphia Tribune; and
WHEREAS, He now lectures internationally and organizes exhibitions and black studies programs around the country; and
WHEREAS, He served as the director of the Pennsylvania Black History Committee, director of the Afro- American History Board and the governor's commissioner for the Governor's Heritage Program; and
WHEREAS, He has been a member of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the NAACP, the State University Alumni Council, the Urban League and the American Antiquarian Society; and
WHEREAS, He received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Before Columbus Foundations and holds multiple honorary doctorates; and
WHEREAS, He is conside...
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