My Schomburg Experience (Redefined)
Steven G. Fullwood, archivist, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, shares another one of his favorite items from the Schomburg collection:
Letter from Cornel West to Michele Wallace, May 18, 1979 (Michele Wallace Papers)
“Michele Wallace, intellectual and cultural critic, is best known for her polemic Black Macho and the Myth of the Superwoman. I’ve always loved Wallace’s work and so it was a privilege to process her papers.
Researchers will find letters to Wallace from Cornel West, one of the preeminent philosophers of our time. Few know that West and Wallace were once an item. ‘Dearest Michele,’ begins the greeting card, ‘Since I’ve met you, my soul has been set afire.’ Who wouldn’t want to hear that? But it’s easy to imagine how smitten West would have been with Wallace, his intellectual counterpart. Physical letters are imbued with special importance when communicating information, particularly matters of the heart.
Join Steven on a guided tour of the Romare Bearden exhibition at the Schomburg on October 5, 2011. For more information, please click here.
