I, Darryl Cumber Dance, have been dedicated to the goals and programs of the Virginia humanities since its inception. Indeed, I have been involved in defining and executing a number of those goals. My Association began in 1986 when the governor of Virginia invited me to participate in a colloquium on the Virginia Center for the Humanities.
I attended several meetings and wrote a few letters back to respond to our discussions, some of them lengthy. Some of my letters expressed enthusiasm for the project, but others expressed concerns, reservations and criticisms. I ended one of the letters expressing my interactions with the others involved. “It is good to have the chance to rub shoulders, or perhaps even butt heads with such people.”
“My dedication to the humanities extends far beyond the Virginia Humanities and includes frequent work through the years with the National Endowment for the Humanities.”
Daryl Cumber Dance
From those days of planning for this grand project, I have worked with the foundation on numerous programs, events and projects. I served as a scholar in residence in 1997 I served on the editorial board of Encyclopedia Virginia from 2006 to 2010. I have participated in at least eight Virginia Festivals of the Book. I have reviewed grant proposals for the Virginia Humanities. I have served as a consultant, guest speaker, panelist and moderator for events sponsored by the Virginia Humanities through the years in Martinsville, Charlottesville, Richmond, Blackstone and Warsaw.
I have regularly responded to numerous requests from Virginia Humanities, including the request for a contribution to the memory book for Robert Vaughan, my dedication to the humanities extends far beyond the Virginia Humanities and includes frequent work through the years with the National Endowment for the Humanities and various other state humanities groups.
Thanks to you, Mr. Matthew streets and to my daughter, Dr Darrell Lynn Dance for this opportunity to participate, thank you.
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About Daryl Cumber Dance
Daryl Cumber Dance was born in Richmond, Virginia, in 1938, to elementary school teacher Veronica Bell Cumber and entrepreneur Allen Cumber. She earned her A.B. and M.A. in English from Virginia State College (now Virginia State University) and her Ph.D. in English from the University of Virginia. Dance began her career teaching English at Armstrong High School in Richmond before returning to Virginia State College as an instructor. She later joined Virginia Commonwealth University, where she became a full professor and served as acting coordinator of the Afro-American Studies program. In 1993, she joined the University of Richmond faculty and was later named Sterling A. Brown Professor of English at Howard University.
Dance has authored and has served as part of numerous boards, committees, and scholarly socieities, including the American Folklore Society and the Modern Language Association.
Her work has earned many honors, including the Zora Neale Hurston Award, the Sojourner Truth Award, and the creation of the Daryl Cumber Dance Lifetime Achievement Award by the College Language Association.
