The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture stands as one of the world’s leading institutions dedicated to Black history, arts, and culture. Yet what many don’t know is that Barnard alumna Jean Blackwell Hutson ’35 was critical in building the collection as its curator for nearly four decades.
Born in Summerfield, Florida, and raised in Baltimore, young Jean was captivated by the city’s Enoch Pratt Free Library. “[The library] was an inspiration to lots of young readers,” Hutson said in a 1989 interview with Barnard Magazine, adding that it had a “great influence” on her as a child.
Hutson initially pursued pre-med studies at the University of Michigan for three years, aiming to become a psychiatrist. However, her activism in pushing for dormitory integration raised concerns for her mother, who feared it might jeopardize her future. Believing that racial barriers would be less of an issue at an elite women’s college in New York City, her mother urged her to transfer to Barnard in 1934.
While the College did provide Hutson with the vibrancy of life in Manhattan, it did not shield her from racism; and finding housing was her first challenge. Barnard’s dean, Virginia Gildersleeve, opposed her living on campus and suggested that she would be happier in Harlem with “her people.” Hutson’s mother firmly disagreed, pointing out that since they didn’t know anyone in the City, her daughter should live on campus. As a compromise, Hutson moved into the International House, a diverse residence a few blocks from Barnard that exposed her to cultures from around the world — an experience she later credited with broadening her global perspective.
Inside the classroom, Hutson faced professors who doubted that a Black student belonged at Barnard. She was undeterred. “Hutson did not seek to vilify Gildersleeve or [her professors] but positioned herself with them as participants in an ongoing and difficult struggle around issues of race in America,” wrote Judith Weisenfeld ’86, former Barnard professor of religion.
In 1936, just one year after Hutson graduated from Barnard — as its second Black graduate after Zora Neale Hurston ’28 — with a degree in English, she crossed Broadway and secured an advanced degree from Columbia’s School of Library Service. Initially, obtaining the degree was a practical and financial decision; Hutson wanted to become a librarian so she could earn money for medical school. However, it is not surprising that the little girl who had loved words and books at her local library found her life’s calling as a librarian.
Hutson began working for the New York Public Library in 1936. She was assigned to a number of local branches throughout the City before becoming the acting curator for the Schomburg Collection, originally housed on the top floor of the public library at 135th Street and Lenox Avenue. The initial curator never returned to the job, allowing Hutson to continue in the position.
During her tenure, the collection not only moved down to street level — making it more accessible to passersby — but its catalog was published and became a resource for educators and researchers. Hutson deeply believed that the Schomburg’s importance went beyond academia; she felt it was also of significant value to the residents of Harlem. “Many people assumed that they knew all there was to know just by being Black, but there is much more to the history of Black people,” she told Barnard Alumnae Magazine in 1989.
In addition to overseeing the collection, Hutson was instrumental in elevating its visibility. She organized the Schomburg Corporation, a nonprofit organization that obtained needed funding for the center. She was also a part of the team that secured grants to build a new facility, which opened in 1980, to house the collection, which had become well known during the Civil Rights Movement.
Hutson’s work and vision of spreading Black history took her outside of Harlem. She received a personal invitation from Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of Ghana, to help create the Africana Collection at the University of Ghana, which Hutson worked on, beginning in 1964. Concerned about the country’s political instability, she shortened her planned three-year stay to one, during which time she was exposed to books written by French-speaking Africans that expanded her knowledge, and ultimately the Schomburg’s collection, as she added these found titles into her work.
While Hutson was in many ways an unsung hero of one of the world’s best collections on Black culture, her contributions were recognized during her lifetime. In 1990, Barnard honored her with the Medal of Distinction. Four years later, the Schomburg named its research and reference division after her.
Hutson stepped down as the Schomburg’s chief in 1980. She stayed within the New York Public Library system and was the assistant director of Collection Management and Development for Black Culture until her retirement in 1984. Hutson was also a founding member of the Harlem Cultural Council and the Black Academy of Arts and Letters.
To learn more about Black students at Barnard, visit Zora Neale Hurston Centennial. “You Oughta Know” is produced in collaboration with the Barnard Archives and Special Collections.
