Khalil Gibran Muhammad biography

"What matters to me is that they and people of the African diaspora are able to articulate why their humanity matters, to show and showcase their contributions to the world, and to have in a sense a history that is validated and respected and made meaningful to humanity at large."

Muhammad has promised to look at a number of avenues to promote the Schomburg, with the goal of being innovative in a digital age and continuing to have honest,

complex conversations about the Africand iaspora.

As a husband and father of three children, Muhammad is also looking to build the library's connection to young people as a source of inspiration. "I want to bring in more young people, bring them into the Schomburg's orbit," he said in an interview with the online publication The Root. "I want them to know that the raw materials of our lives—letters to family, postcards from trips, sketches of art that children draw in church to stay awake, crayon markings—are the beginnings of what can one day become the Schomburg's precious assets ..."

Expert Programming and Media Commentary

The Schomburg has continued an eclectic, informed array of programming that's included everything from a forum on President Barack Obama during 2012's election night to a 2013 day program on black representation in comic-book culture. Muhammad has also continued his work looking at race and American history, providing media commentary on America's Founding Fathers and their connection to slavery, the prison industrial complex, the Trayvon Martin case, and the use of stop and frisk policies in New York City.

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