Penn State mourns death of distinguished alumnus, donor Charles Blockson

UNIVERSITY PARK Pa. — Penn State notes with great sadness the loss of Distinguished Alumnus, Alumni Fellow, and University Libraries benefactor and volunteer Charles LeRoy Blockson, class of 1956, who died June 14 at the age of 89.

As a Penn State student, Blockson was a member of the 1954 IC4A national champion track and field team and a fullback on the football team, nicknamed “Blockbuster Blockson,” who would turn down a professional football career with the New York Giants. However, it was his lifelong passion for research, scholarship, and collecting and preserving significant materials related to African American history for which he was recognized as a Distinguished Alumnus in 2007 and became best known and most highly regarded during his life. He also received an Alumni Fellow Award from Penn State in 1981 and was awarded three honorary doctoral degrees from Holy Family University, Lincoln University and Villanova University.

In 2006, he donated some of his impressive collection to the University Libraries to establish Penn State’s Charles L. Blockson Collection of African Americana and the African Diaspora, after establishing the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection at Temple University Libraries in 1984 in his native Philadelphia, a collection he served as curator until his retirement in 2006 with emeritus rank. Penn State’s cataloged Blockson archival collection includes books, magazines, photographs, manuscripts, sheet music, postcards, record albums and artifacts of the African experience in the United States, Latin America, Caribbean and Africa, dating from 1632 to the present.

“Dr. Blockson’s passion and dedication for collecting and preserving the history of African Americans will make a vast number of resources accessible to future users, thanks to his foresight in donating his collections to Penn State and Temple University,” Faye A. Chadwell, dean of University Libraries and Scholarly Communications, said. “We at Penn State will do our utmost to continue the legacy of this remarkable bibliophile and historian.”

A self-described bibliophile, Blockson was motivated to begin collecting everything he could find about the African diaspora at age 9 following a substitute teacher’s racist reply to his query about Black history’s place in American history. Though she apologized to him in his adulthood, his purpose as a collector and curator of African American cultural heritage had been firmly established.

Blockson co-founded the Afro-American Historical and Cultural Museum in Philadelphia, now known as the African American Museum in Philadelphia, in 1976. In 1977, he published “Black Genealogy” with Ron Fry, a work often referred to as seminal in the field of African American genealogical research. He authored several additional books and was regarded by many as the foremost expert on the Underground Railroad. He also penned the first African-American cover story for National Geographic magazine — the July 1984 issue’s “Escape from Slavery: Underground Railroad” remains one of the magazine’s most popular articles. Many regard his 1987 book “The Underground Railroad” as his most significant work.

Blockson also was a founding member of the Pennsylvania Black History Committee of the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission, past president of the Pennsylvania Abolition Society, and former chairman of the National Park Service Underground Railroad Advisory Committee, among other leadership roles.

“Through his collections and passion for Black history, Dr. Blockson set a standard for valuing and uplifting the knowledge of Black people,” said Patrice R. Green, curator for African American collections in the University Libraries’ Eberly Family Special Collections Library. “His collections are a reflection and celebration of our many lived experiences, and his life’s work ensures we get to continue in fellowship with our ancestors now and in the future.”

At Penn State, Blockson served as a volunteer on the Penn State Alumni Association’s Alumni Council and on the University Libraries Advisory Board.

Penn State’s Blockson Collection is open to the public during limited hours on West Pattee Library’s third floor on the University Park campus. However, materials from the collection can be accessed in the Eberly Family Special Collections Library, 104 Paterno Library, by appointment and during its regular business hours.

Individuals wishing to honor Blockson’s legacy through the University Libraries may direct gifts to the Penn State Special Collections Fund for the African American Collection at raise.psu.edu/CharlesBlockson.