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Fresh off the heels of National Library Week\u2014with its theme of Find Your Joy<\/em>\u2014the New York Public Library\u2019s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture ushered in the season with a grand soir\u00e9e for its 100th anniversary.<\/p>\n Held within the NYPL\u2019s Stephen A. Schwarzman Building earlier this month, the Harlem-based institution\u2019s centennial gala also included a special awards ceremony highlighting honorees Angela Bassett, Solange Knowles, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Nikole Hannah-Jones, and Edwidge Danticat.<\/p>\n As guests\u2014including Tina Knowles, Gayle King, Aurora James, Tamron Hall, Sunny Hostin, Thelma Golden, and Mickalene Thomas\u2014arrived, they were greeted by a pre-sunset serenade of hymns delivered by The Abyssinian Baptist Church of Harlem\u2019s choir. The stirring performance on the library\u2019s grand exterior staircase\u2014decorated with blooms and plush lavender carpeting\u2014set the tone for what awaited inside.<\/p>\n After entering through the revolving doors, guests encountered the landmarked library transformed thanks to dazzling pastel lighting, a festive bar, and floral d\u00e9cor. \u201cThese are the perks of Schomburg membership,\u201d Thomas laughed, as she danced by the gilded step-and-repeat. \u201cI love being a member, obviously for the educational value, but also for culturally rewarding moments like tonight!\u201d<\/p>\n Themed welcome cocktails curated by Deniseea Head included the rum-infused Like a Raisin in the Sun and a watermelon vodka spritz called Cotton Club\u2019s Fizz. Meanwhile, trays of fruit tarts, chicken bites, and pommes frites made their way around the grand foyer before the crowd came together for a seated dinner.<\/p>\n A commanding dance and percussion performance by Batal\u00e1 New York led guests in a ceremonial procession through the winding hallway and downstairs, where velvet-adorned tables filled the room. \u201cI knew I had to be here tonight,\u201d Hostin told Vogue<\/em>. \u201cAt a time when Black history is under attack, and given what\u2019s just happened with the Voting Rights Act, this event is just so important. And it\u2019s beautiful in here!\u201d<\/p>\n Designer Aurora James shared a similar sentiment: \u201cI feel so blessed that we\u2019re able to have an archive like the Schomburg, and hopefully more people will learn about it, visit it, and understand its true, critical importance.\u201d Chiming in with agreement, musician and entrepreneur Benjamin Bronfman added: \u201cTonight\u2019s gala and its ambiance underscore the Schomburg\u2019s efforts.”<\/p>\n Once seated in The Celeste Bartos Forum, guests enjoyed a menu curated by James Beard Award-winning chef Gregory Gourdet. The delectable offering consisted of smoked beet aspic, spinach-stuffed chicken ballotine, pickled okra, and corn bread with seasoned butter. \u201cI\u2019m a Haitian-American from Queens, so I\u2019m very familiar with the Schomburg. And because of tonight\u2019s historical importance, I spent a number of hours there doing research in order to be well-versed and well-prepared for the menu,\u201d Gourdet said.<\/p>\n During the program, spiritual remarks by Nafisa Sharriff enchanted the room, while Mahogany L. Browne read Langston Hughes\u2019 seminal poem The Negro Speaks of Rivers<\/em>. \u201cI\u2019m so in awe of how everything turned out for tonight; it\u2019s perfect,\u201d said Chris Chambers, a publicist and founder of The Chamber Group. Fashion designer Brandon Blackwood agreed: \u201cThis week has been so busy, obviously with the Met Gala, but tonight\u2019s 100th anniversary of the Schomburg is super important to me.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n