Daily News | Charles Blockson’s grade school teacher told him Black people have no history. He set out to prove her wrong
, along with other Tubman artifacts to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, in Washington, D.C., six years before the museum opened in September 2016.the silk lace and linen shawl to the famous abolitionist and Civil War hero in England around 1897.
“It fueled him to search for his history and to start collecting books and anything related to people of African descent.” “Dr. Blockson fought to move beyond the Founding Fathers and Benjamin Franklin’s Philadelphia,” she said., because she claims it was nominated to benefit the people who now live there. “If those six blocks had significance beyond association with a small number of accomplished, albeit largely unknown Negroes, Dr. Blockson would have told their story,” she said.
As a businessman, Zone said he’s always thought that Norristown should do a better job in talking about the successful people it has produced. Blockson has received numerous awards, including the Philadelphia Award in 2017, as well as a couple of honorary doctorate degrees, but insists on being addressed simply as “Mr. Blockson.”
Blockson played football at Penn State with Rosey Grier but declined an offer to play professionally with the New York Giants to pursue his love of history. Blockson attended a private opening reception at the gallery on Wednesday, and gave brief remarks. He looked at the crowd and said he was pleased to see it was filled, about evenly, with Black and white people.