Library of color planned

$400K grant to fund new facility

By Michelle Adams-Thomas | Manor Ink

Monticello, NY – Accomplished local artists Douglas Schindler and Michael Davis are working on a big idea for our area. After finishing college and getting the feel of working in the community, they put their heads together and decided that Sullivan County needs something they can create: The Black Library.

Schindler and Davis were awarded a $400,000 grant by the Mellon Foundation to help them launch their plans. “Our mission is to celebrate Black history and culture, uplift Black people of all ages in Monticello and Sullivan County, as well as to offer educational opportunities for both Black and non-Black residents of the county,”said Schindler.

Although they don’t yet have a physical space, to get started they have held hugely successful book drives to begin building a library of literature of all genres relevant to the Black experience.

Schindler and Davis plan to rent a building on Broadway in Monticello beginning in 2023 or sooner. They have big plans to create a positive space where special programs can take place.

Douglas Schindler grew up in Sullivan County. He attended Sullivan West Central School in Lake Huntington where he experienced the challenges of being Black in a majority white high school. After graduating from SUNY Sullivan and SUNY Purchase, he has become a painter, photographer and designer. The Hurleyville Arts Center recently made him an artist-in-residence.

Michael Davis grew up in Monticello and benefited from the Ethelbert B. Crawford Public Library as a child. He graduated from SUNY Sullivan and has become a photographer, photo retoucher and videographer working around the country.

Sullivan County does not have many outlets for youth, and Schindler and Davis intend to address that problem. “We want to create a very creative and collaborative atmosphere for youth in the county. And really just have a space where people can build themselves up more than they can now,” said Davis.

There have been struggles along the way. The two artists want adults to understand that young people need a place to be comfortable in who they are without the possibility of bullying or non-support. “In our area, there is a serious lack of opportunity and a serious lack of outlets for youth to just be themselves, express themselves in ways that aren’t hindered,” Schindler said. He and Davis see the library as a place where young people can realize their potential.

To some, though, it might seem there’s no need for a new and specialized library. But libraries are forever changing. They are more than just places to borrow books. Schindler and Davis want to prove the value of libraries in the Black community.

“I think it’s important to establish The Black Library because we just don’t have anything like this in the area,” Schindler explained. “We don’t have anything that is safe, educational, creative, collaborative and a fun space. For Black youth specifically in this area, we need to teach things like life skills, creative skills, opportunities for hobbies and for careers.”

The Black Library will offer art workshops, photo clubs and financial literacy workshops, among other activities and events. The Hurleyville Performing Arts Centre and the Ethelbert B. Crawford Public Library are playing an important part in helping Schindler and Davis. The HPAC serves as the nonprofit entity for The Black Library and can receive contributions and grants for it. The library receives the physical book donations on their behalf.

As Schindler and Davis start transitioning into their own space, they plan to work with volunteers and raise additional funds for paid staff. They have already begun to reach out to the community. They held a think-tank event on Oct. 25 at the library as the first in a planned series of monthly gatherings. To learn more about The Black Library, visit theblacklibraryny.com.

About this story

Here’s additional information about the photos that accompany this story, and about the granting agency that is providing support for The Black Library.

Eddie Adams Workshop: The Eddie Adams Workshop is an annual four-day photo journalism seminar in Jeffersonville that’s held every Columbus Day weekend. One hundred students, chosen on the merit of their pictures, are divided into ten teams of ten, each led by a preeminent photographer who assigns and edits pictures over the weekend. One of those students was Damian Lemański, an award-winning, Warsaw-based photo journalist. His assignment was to photograph Douglas Schindler and Michael Davis as the artists went about their daily activities, including their interview with Manor Ink. His photos are used here by permission.

Creatives Rebuild New York: Creatives Rebuild New York, the Mellon Foundation grant that Schindler and Davis received for The Black Library, is a three-year, $125 million initiative that provides guaranteed income and employment to artists across New York State. CRNY believes that artists are workers who deserve equitable, sustainable support, and that artists are important to the vitality of the state’s social and economic wellbeing. Learn more about CRNY at creativesrebuildny.org.