Firm helps conclude acquisition of Dr. Maya Angelou’s personal papers by New York Public Library

Spring 2024 - Partners David Given and Brian Conlon and associate Nina Pouget concluded their representation of the Dr. Maya Angelou Foundation in the acquisition of her remaining personal papers and other materials by the New York Public Library. While she was still alive, Dr. Angelou chose the NYPL’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem to house and archive her papers. This recent transaction completes the Schomburg’s collection of Dr. Angelou’s papers and materials, all available to the public. Dr. Angelou, a long-time Harlem resident, served for over 10 years as the Schomburg’s National Membership Chair. “The Schomburg is a repository of the victories and the losses of the African American experience,” she said upon its acquisition of the first tranche of her papers and materials. “I am grateful that it exists so that all the children, Black and White, Asian, Spanish-speaking, Native American, and Aleutian can know there is a place where they can go and find the truth of the people’s history.” Dr. Angelou received 60 honorary degrees during her lifetime, wrote more than 30 books (most still in print), and was awarded both the National Medal of Arts and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She passed away in 2014.