| Portia James | |
| Birth Date: | 11 March 1953 |
| 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.[1]
James graduated from Wayne State University, and Howard University.[2]
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);[3] East of the River: Continuity and Change (2007); Jubilee: African American Celebration (2008);[4] Exercise Your Mynd: Bk Adams I AM ART (2012); Arture (2012); Ubuhle Women: Beadwork and the Art of Independence (2013);[5] and Hand of Freedom: The Life and Legacy of the Plummer Family (2015). She researched the life of Leslie J. Payne.[6]