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In June 2026, Herman Bennett, was named the Jay I. Kislak Chair for the Study of History and Cultures of the Early Americas at the Library of Congress.

Congratulations to Distinguished Prof. Herman Bennett, who was named the Jay I. Kislak Chair for the Study of History and Cultures of the Early Americas at the Library of Congress!

— CUNY Graduate Center (@thegraduatecenter.bsky.social) 2026-06-25T12:02:19.965Z

Artist Dr. Leslee Stradford and Professor Herman Bennett gave a fascinating talk at The Church on Afrofuturism and its relationship to padrãos, steles that were erected in Africa by Portuguese colonists during the time of slavery. Dr Stradford created a collage reflecting on this phenomenon and she and Herman Bennett, historian and author of AFRICAN KINGS AND BLACK SLAVES, had a dynamic conversation about Afrofuturism, described as “an ever-expansive aesthetic and practice—where music, visual arts, science fiction, and technology intersect to imagine alternate realities and a liberated future viewed through the lens of Black cultures”. 2022
Kings and Slaves: Diplomacy, Sovereignty, and Black Subjectivity in the Early Modern World
Noted historian of the African Diaspora, Herman Bennett, delivered an evening lecture in honor of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the John Carter Brown Library’s Associates. Friday, October 4, at 5:30pm. Brown University 2019