| Portia James | |
|---|---|
 Portia James, 1985. | |
| Born | (1953-03-11)March 11, 1953 |
| Died | December 2, 2015(2015-12-02) (aged 62) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | cultural resources manager |
Portia James (March 11, 1953 - December 2, 2015) was an American curator and historian. A specialist in African-American material culture, she worked as the cultural resources manager of the Anacostia Community Museum.
Life
James graduated from Wayne State University, and Howard University.
James' exhibition work included The Real McCoy: African American Invention and Innovation, 1619-1930 (1989); Black Mosaic: Community, Race and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, DC (1994); Down Through the Years: Stories from the Anacostia Museum Collection (1996); East of the River: Continuity and Change (2007); Jubilee: African American Celebration (2008); Exercise Your Mynd: Bk Adams I AM ART (2012); Arture (2012); Ubuhle Women: Beadwork and the Art of Independence (2013); and Hand of Freedom: The Life and Legacy of the Plummer Family (2015). She researched the life of Leslie J. Payne.
Selected works
- James, Portia. "Building a Community-Based Identity at Anacostia Museum." Curator: The Museum Journal. 39:1 (1996): 19-44.
- James, Portia. The Real McCoy: African-American Invention and Innovations, 1619-1930. Washington: Smithsonian Institution (1990). ISBN 0874745578
- James, Portia. Building Immigrant Community Life in Washington DC: A Public History Approach," Trotter Review,Vol. 10: Iss. 1, Article 4
References
- "Portia James". Anacostia Community Museum. Archived from the original on 2009-03-26.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - "In memoriam" (PDF). Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-02-12.
- "MAKING THE PAST PRESENT". Washington Post. 1996-05-24. Retrieved 2016-08-14.
- Brown, DeNeen L. (2008-12-27). "Exhibit Review: 'Jubilee: African American Celebration' at the Anacostia Community Museum". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2016-08-14.
- Parker, Lonnae O'Neal (2013-12-24). "Beads that shimmer with aspiration at Anacostia museum". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2016-08-14.
- Edwards, Owen. "Flights of Fancy". Arts & Culture. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 21 April 2012.