One of the most prestigious collections of African American historical art in the country; it was founded by Charles Blockson, an accredited author and historian who brought the collection to Temple in 1984. Located in Sullivan Hall, the collection consists of roughly 20,000 items collected by Blockson throughout his life, which began in 1933 in Norristown, PA. Blockson’s goal behind assembling the collection was to educate people about the cultural significance of African American history through primary artifacts recovered from that history.