Blockson, Charles LeRoy
Born: December 16, 1933, in Norristown, Pennsylvania
Vocations: Author, Bibliophile, Historian, Museum Curator, Lecturer, Scholar, Professor, Essayist, Activist
Geographic Connections to Pennsylvania: Norristown, Montgomery County; Philadelphia, Philadelphia County; University Park, Centre County

Keywords: African American history; Black Genealogy; Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection; The Memoirs of an African-American Bibliophile; Penn State University; Rare books; Temple University; The Underground Railroad

Abstract: Charles L. Blockson is the founder and curator of the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection of rare texts, slave narratives, art, and a host of other artifacts significant in African American history at Temple University. Born in Norristown, Pennsylvania, Blockson graduated from the Pennsylvania State University and holds an honorary doctorate from Villanova University. Blockson has written several essays and books centered on African American history, especially in Pennsylvania, including The Underground Railroad and Liberty Bell Era: The African American Story. Blockson continues to travel the world in an effort to amass one of our nation’s largest collection of African American culture.

Biography:

From an early age, Charles L. Blockson was a lover of literature and books. Born in 1933 to Annie and Charles E. Blockson in Norristown, PA, Blockson says in his memoir Damn Rare that his love of books was spawned through his rich family background in African American culture, leading him to be one of our nations leading African American bibliophiles and collector of African and African American culture throughout the world. Blockson has written several books, many of which relate to Pennsylvania and its relationship to the Underground Railroad with the stories of the many prominent African Americans who journeyed through it. “The preservation of black history has become my lifework,” says Blockson. “I have spent more than forty years amassing one of the nation’s largest private collections of items relating to black history and traditions.”

Charles Blockson started his academic career at The Pennsylvania State University where he was one of Penn State’s best athletes on track and field as well as the football team for which he played fullback. Known then as Charlie “Blockbuster” Blockson, he broke some of the Nittany Lions’ long-standing records in the discus competition and was one of the nation’s most notable collegiate champions in both track and football competitions. So much so, he was offered a position to play with the New York Giants but declined and went into the armed services from 1957-1958. In the midst of his career, Blockson was a teacher for the Norristown Area School District where he taught multicultural and diversity education in the state of Pennsylvania and was the first inductee into Norristown school district’s Hall of Fame and Hall of Champions. Eventually, Blockson would lecture and teach African American culture all over the world in Sweden, Iceland, and Denmark. Since then, Blockson has traveled even further around the world to find rare and priceless gems of the African Diaspora and established his own library collections at Temple University in 1982 where he is the curator of The Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection.

As part of Temple University’s special collections library, Blockson’s collections contains rare books, prints, photographs, slave narratives, manuscripts, letters, sheet music, and even foreign language publications from the 1600s. Its modern day material includes works from the civil rights era and Negro Baseball Leagues, along with many social and political personalities of Pennsylvania. His collection is said to contain around 150,000 items. The collection spans nearly four centuries from Leo Africanus to Langston Hughes and spans geographically from Africa through Europe and the Caribbean to the United States.

One of Blockson’s personal favorites of his collection includes works from his proclaimed ‘Lifetime Hero,’ Paul Robeson. Blockson has gathered about 3,000 items in his Robeson collection, including literature, on the famous author, athlete, and actor, including Abyssinia (London, 1933), The Story of the Zulus (London, 1911), and La Sculpture Negre Primitive (Paris, 1929). In addition, the Robeson Collection has everything from playbills, sculptures, scrapbooks, painting, records, letters, books, pamphlets, and posters, all spanning the intricate and diverse lifestyle of Robeson.

One of the most notable parts of his collection is the first edition works of authors like Phyllis Wheatley, W.E.D. Dubois, George Washington Williams, Paul Lawrence Dunbar, Johannes Capitein and Carter G. Williams. The collection contains some of these authors’ first editions, rare works of literature that aren’t available anywhere else in the United States or even the world. Blockson’s extensive collection of manuscripts are assembled from all over the world, including the Europe and the Caribbean collection consisting of sheet music, the principal papers of Samuel Holmes, William Grant Still, Dr. R.R. Wright, Natalie Hinderas and Dr. Ruth Wright Hayre, as well as rare letters signed by Haitian Revolution leaders Toussaint L’Overture and Henri Christophe (both leaders have several pieces of rare artwork in their image displayed at Temple University). Other works of 17th century literature include Corippus’ Africani Grammatici (1581); The Life and Times of Ioannis Leonis Africannus (1632); and David Walker’s Appeal (1829). Blockson’s collection is very diverse, with pieces of history and culture in the lives of African descendents varying from Black erotica to an extensive collection of African Bibles.

Blockson is alive and well, living in Pennsylvania. He has one daughter, Noelle, and was married to Elizabeth Parker, from whom he is now divorced. Not only do his honors include the Pennsylvania State Quarterback Club, which he received in 1984, but BLockson is also the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Before Columbus Foundation and holds multiple honorary doctorates. Blockson has also launched a project to erect sixty-four historical markers commemorating the contribution of African Americans to Philadelphia.

Works:

Books

• Black Genealogy. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1977.
• Pennsylvania’s Black History. Philadelphia: Portfolio Associates, 1981.
• Hippocrene Guide to the Underground Railroad. New York: Hippocrene, 1984.
• The Underground Railroad. New York: Prentice-Hall Press, 1987.
• The Journey of John W. Mosley. Philadelphia: Temple UP, 1992.
• African Americans in Pennsylvania: A History and Guide. Baltimore: Black Classic Press, 1994.
• (with Ron Fry). Black Genealogy. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1997.
• African Americans in Pennsylvania: Above Ground and Underground: An Illustrated Guide. Harrisburg, PA: RB Books, 2001.
• The Liberty Bell Era: The African American Story. Harrisburg, PA: RB Books, 2003.
• The Haitian Revolution: Celebrating the First Black Republic. Virginia Beach, VA: Donning Co. Publishers, 2004.
• Damn Rare: The Memoirs of an African-American Bibliophile. Tracy, CA: Quantum Leap Publishers, 1988.

Sources:

• Berhanu, Aslaku. “Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection.” Temple University. 12 Mar. 2006.<http://library.temple.edu/collections/blockson/INDEX.HTM>.
• “Charles Blockson.” The Gale Literary Database: Contemporary Authors Online. 9 Sept. 2002. 12 Mar. 2006. <http://galenet.galegroup.com/>.
• “Charles Blockson.” Education Makers. 9 Sept. 2002. The History Makers TM. 29 Jan. 2006. <http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biography>.
• “Charles L. Blockson African American Collection.” Temple Review Fall 2003: 13-19.
• Scales, Darryl. “The Blockson Collection.” 9 Sept. 2005. Temple University. 12 Mar. 2006. <http://astro.ocis.temple.edu/~masante/blockson.html>.

This biography was prepared by Melissa Jackson.