The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture honors the life of David N. Dinkins, who passed away on Monday, November 23, at age 93. Mr. Dinkins was New York City’s 106th mayor and made history in 1990 as the first African American elected to the position.

During his administration, Mr. Dinkins convened the Mayor's African Burial Ground Committee, which navigated and preserved one of the largest burial grounds of free and enslaved African Americans. The committee later became the Federal Steering Committee on the African Burial Ground in New York City, led by former Schomburg Center Director Howard Dodson. The Schomburg Center holds the notes, reports, and correspondence from these historic meetings.

Mr. Dinkins' tenure also included expanding affordable housing to combat homelessness, increasing the size of the New York City Police Department, which led to a steady drop in the city's crime rate, and negotiating a 99-year lease with the United States Tennis Association. The deal resulted in a financial boost to the city’s economy.

Additionally, the former mayor championed libraries. He allocated money in the city’s budget to restore 6-day service, allowing more New Yorkers access to its materials and resources.

After Mr. Dinkins left public office, he taught at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, hosted a radio program on WLIB, and was a lifelong supporter of the Schomburg Center. He met with students in our Junior Scholars program and was a frequent visitor to events, exhibitions, and programs. In 2017, he viewed the Black Power! exhibition with Schomburg Center Director Kevin Young.

Mr. Dinkins was born in Trenton, New Jersey on July 10, 1927, and spent part of his early life in Harlem. He attended Howard University under the G.I. Bill of Rights, where he met his future wife, Joyce Burrows. The couple later settled in Harlem. Mr. Dinkins practiced law before embarking on a career in politics. He served as a state assemblyman and Manhattan Borough president before running for mayor.

The city's first Black mayor was part of an informal group of Black leaders known as the “Gang of Four.” Members included Charles Rangel, who became the U.S. Congressman representing greater Harlem from 1971-2017, Basil Paterson, New York's Secretary of State and Deputy Mayor, and Percy Sutton, Manhattan Borough President from 1966-1977 and attorney for clients such as Malcolm X.

Mr. Dinkins’ wife of more than six decades, Joyce, died on October 11, 2020. In the early 1990s, the Schomburg Center’s Jean Blackwell Hutson Research and Reference Division named a children’s book collection in her honor. Some of the titles featured include Alec’s Primer by Mildred Pitts Walter, Ananse and the Lizard by Pat Cummings, and Akamba by Tiyambe Zeleza.

Mrs. Dinkins has a second collection in the Manuscripts, Archives, and Rare Books Division consisting of scrapbooks with drawings, photographs, and expressions of appreciation by children who participated in the "Reading is Recreation" program.

When the Schomburg Center reopens to the public, we look forward to sharing these collections with the public.