This year the Colloquium honors the pioneering of achievements of two leaders in the field.

Richard A. Long
Interdisciplinary Scholar

A true renaissance man of the arts, Dr. Richard Long, Professor Emeritus exemplifies the high level of scholarship and dedication in academia. Long has an extensive history in the world of academia. With diverse research interests, such as visual art, music, literature, and dance, he has taught and created courses aligned with his areas of study.
     Beginning his professorial career at West Virginia State College, Long held teaching appointments at Morgan State, Hampton University, Harvard University, and Emory University. A faculty member of Emory from 1986 to 2001, Long is the distinguished Haygood Professor, Emeritus in the Graduate Institute of Liberal Arts.
     A man of many letters, Long studied at Temple University where he received his bachelor and master degrees. He then attended the University of Paris on a Fulbright Scholarship in 1957-58. Long received his doctorate from University of Poiters.
     Long serves on the editorial boards of numerous journals,such as the Langston Hughes Bulletin and the Zora Neale Hurston Bulletin. Long has published books which include The Black Traditions in American Dance (1989) and African Americans: A Portrait (1993). Long also serves on the boards of the High Museum of Art and the Society of Dance History Scholars. He is also a commissioner for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art.

Leslie King Hammond

Leslie King-Hammond, art historian, educator and artist is the Graduate Dean of the Maryland Institute College of Art and Chair of the Board of Directors of the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture both in Baltimore , Maryland . A distinguished leader, King-Hammond is the former president of the College Art Association and serves on the Executive Board of the International Association of Art Critics. Her contributions to the arts are immeasurable. As insightful critic, innovative curator and diligent scholar, King-Hammond has continued to deepen our critical understanding of African American Art and art of the African Diaspora.
      King-Hammond graduated from Queens College then continued to earn her MA and Ph.D. from John Hopkins University .

2008 Colloquium
This year’s presentation of the Howard University Department of Art’s James A. Porter Colloquium is presented in conjunction with the David C. Driskell Center for the Study of the African Diaspora and the Howard University Gallery of Art.

Admission to all Colloquium sessions and lectures is free and open to the public.