Garvey and Schomburg Were in the Same Photograph. Why Weren’t They in the Same Lesson?

The more I study Marcus Garvey’s life, the more I realize what a remarkable life he led during one of the most tumultuous times in American and world history. And we have not even begun to talk about the talented men and women who passed through the offices of the UNIA and whose work appeared in the Negro World .

Writers and scholars such as John Edward Bruce, J. A.

Rogers, Zora Neale Hurston, Hubert Harrison, Eric Walrond, and, of course, Arturo Schomburg. Schomburg was not a regular writer for the Negro World , but he did contribute articles.

And there are even photographs of Marcus Garvey and Arturo Schomburg attending the funeral of John Edward Bruce, the journalist, historian, and contributor to the Negro World. If we have all this documentary evidence, then the question we must ask ourselves is: Why is Garvey’s relationship with writers and scholars such as Schomburg not more widely known?

Working on this video and the lesson plan has made me painfully aware of the gaps in our educational system, especially the lack of connections between Black History Month and Hispanic Heritage Month. Arturo Schomburg’s incredible life helps us see those connections clearly.

Schomburg was an Afroborinqueño, as he called himself—an Afro-Puerto Rican. His life connected Puerto Rico, the Caribbean, Harlem, Black history, and the larger African diaspora.

His story reminds us that these histories were never separate. We have only been taught to see them that way.

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References Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division, The New York Public Library. “Mrs. John E.

Bruce, Marcus Garvey, Arthur Schomburg and Other Mourners at the Grave of John E. Bruce.” New York Public Library Digital Collections , 1924. .

Accessed 4 Oct. 2026. New York Public Library. “Mourners of John E.

Bruce, Including Marcus Garvey and Arturo Schomburg.” 100 Years of the Schomburg Center: Icons of Black History . . Accessed 4 Oct. 2026.

Digital Culture of Metropolitan New York. “The Negro World Newspaper Collection, 1923–1925.” DCMNY . . Accessed 4 Oct. 2026.

New York Public Library. “Writings by Schomburg.” Arturo (Arthur) Schomburg Research Guide . . Accessed 4 Oct. 2026.

New York Public Library. “Honoring Arturo Schomburg’s Afro-Latino Legacy.” NYPL Blog , 30 June 2016. . Accessed 4 Oct. 2026.

Photograph Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division, The New York Public Library. “Photograph of funeral “Final earthly resting place of our friend, Bro. Bruce”.

Among those pictured are: Rev. Martin, Prof.

W. W.

Weeks, P. M.

CE Cyril, Rev Wilson, Mrs. J.

E. Bruce, A.

Schomburg, and Marcus Garvey” The New York Public Library Digital Collections . 1924. For more information: The statewide New York teachers’ union is giving teachers free Schomburg material for Hispanic Heritage Month: a poster honoring Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, downloadable in English and Spanish.

It lands inside your promo window ahead of the Oct. 15 close, with limited print copies for members and leaders through the union’s publications catalog, per NYSUT’s announcement: This Substack funds The Garvey Classroom — curriculum, courses, and free daily teaching for students, parents, and teachers. Free subscribers receive the writing.

Paid subscribers fund the work. Get full access to The Garvey Classroom at geoffreyphilp.substack.com/subscribe