PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Friends and colleagues at Temple University are remembering one of Philadelphia’s cultural icons as a man with a thirst for truth and history. Charles L. Blockson, born in 1933 in Norristown, founded one of the most prestigious collections of African American artifacts in the country. He died last week at the age of 89.
Blockson was the architect of the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection at Temple University. In his life, he amassed a huge collection of artifacts, which helped to tell the story of Black experience in America.
Diane Turner, the current curator of the Blockson collection, says he was her teacher and mentor, with whom she kept in close contact.
“He had a great passion for our history and culture and was always encouraging me — you can do this, you can do that,” said Turner. “And he found out that I had a passion for African American history too. So from that point, you know, he was a mentor, someone I well respected. And later on, you know, almost like a father figure.”
'You would not believe what people did'
One incident that may have sparked his passion is when a white 4th grade substitute teacher told him that African Americans had no history and existed to serve white people.
Molefi Asante, professor of Africology and African American Studies at Temple, heard Blockson recount that story in person, which had an effect on him.
“I'll tell you something else that had a big impact on me,” Asante said. “When I met him at Temple University, and I went and I saw the collection, there was a book that he showed me. He said to me, ‘You would not believe what people did to our people. Here is a book.’ The cover of the book was made from the skin of a black person in America. It gave me chills! I was like — whoa! I mean, he had all of these things, and he had collected them!”
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With more than 700,000 items relating to the global Black experience, the Blockson collection is one of the most prestigious collections of African American artifacts in the U.S.
Blockson donated his collection to Temple in 1984, because of the university’s diverse student body and its location in the heart of North Philadelphia’s African American community, according to Temple University.
“He collected, preserved and disseminated information about people of African descent, their history and culture, because more than anything else, he believed that knowledge is power,” Turner said.
Turner remained in contact with her former mentor and teacher up until his death at his home in Gwynedd, Montgomery County, on June 14.
'Knowledge is a form of Black power'
“Charles Blockson is a giant of a man. My deepest condolences are with Noelle and the entire Blockson family. His collection of artifacts is a cultural gem in the commonwealth and is responsible for so much of the knowledge we have about the African American diaspora. He is a hero,” wrote State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, D-Phila., in a statement released Thursday.
Kenyatta said he will introduce legislation in Harrisburg to make Blockson's birthday, Dec. 16, a state holiday.
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Asante says keeping alive a passion for gathering history is important for Blockson’s legacy.
“He was a determined man, but a man who was, in fact, inclined always to speak about changing the narrative about African American history,” Asante said. “It’s part of the fabric of everything in this country — the law, education, the economy — all that is wrapped up in African American history. Blockson knew it and Blockson would fight for it.”
Blockson once said, “My main goal in life is to build a good library of Black history — knowledge is a form of Black power, and this is my part in it.”
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