Biography

Dr. Khalid Y. Long is the Associate Dean of Research and Creative Endeavors. He is also an Associate Professor of Theatre Arts and the Coordinator of the Foundations Area. Before joining Howard University, Dr. Long was on the faculty at Columbia College Chicago in the Theatre Department and held a joint appointment in the Department of Theatre and Film Studies and the Institute for African American Studies at the University of Georgia. 

A cultural historian, dramaturg, and director, Long specializes in African American/Black diasporic theatre, performance, and literature through the lenses of Black feminist/womanist thought, queer studies, and performance studies. Accordingly, his work addresses the intersections of race, class, gender, and sexuality within marginalized and oppressed communities. Long teaches various courses, from theatre history and dramaturgy to dramatic criticism, global performance, and Black cultural production. 

Long's books include Contemporary Black Theatre and Performance: Acts of Rebellion, Activism, and Solidarity (Methuen Drama) and August Wilson in Context (Cambridge University Press). Additionally, he is co-editor of a special edition of tBTR: The Black Theatre Review, "A Cultural Experience: The Role of Theatre at Historically Black Colleges and Universities" (Spring 2025). Long is also co-editor of a special edition of the Journal of American Drama and Theatre (JADT) for Spring 2026 that focuses on "100 Years of W. E. B. Du Bois' Principles of a Real Negro Theatre." 

Long received a grant from the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) in spring 2025 to support the completion of his manuscript, An Architect of Black Feminist Theatre: Glenda Dickerson, Transnational Feminism, and The Kitchen Prayer Series (under contract with Iowa University Press). 

Long has published in several journals and edited scholarly collections, including Continuum: The Journal of African Diaspora Drama, Theatre, and Performance; tBTR: the Black Theatre Review; The Journal of American Drama and Theatre (JADT); Modern Drama; Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism; Theatre Topics; Theatre Journal; Theatre; The Cambridge Companion to African American Theatre (2nd edition); Essays on Psychogeography and the City as Performance; Dramaturgy and History: Staging the Archive; Milestones in Queer US Theatre; and The Routledge Companion to African American Theatre and Performance. Long has also written several articles for Black Masks and Performance Response Journal. 

Long is the Vice President and Conference Planner for the August Wilson Society and is a board member of the American Society for Theatre Research (ASTR). Recently, Long also served as the Vice President and Conference Planner for the Black Theatre Association (ATHE) and held the position of Vice President for Advocacy of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education.

A freelance dramaturg, Dr. Long’s credits include (select list):

• A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, Court Theatre, Chicago.
• St. Lucy's Eyes by Bridgette Wimberly, University of Louisville, KY.
• Letters to Kamala and Dandelion Peace by Rachel Lynett, Voices Festival Production, Washington, DC.
• Gem of the Ocean by August Wilson, University of Louisville, KY.
• Dandelion Peace by Rachel Lynett, Voices Festival Production
• Relentless by Tyla Abercrumbie, TimeLine Theatre, Chicago, IL (World Premiere).
• Two Trains Running by August Wilson, Court Theatre, Chicago, IL.
• Kill Move Paradise by James Ijames, REP Stage, Howard County, MD.
• Sunset Baby by Dominique Morisseau, REP Stage, Howard County, MD.
• Sweat by Lynn Nottage, Paramount Theatre, Aurora, IL.
• Octavia’s Brood by MK Abadoo, Dance Theatre, Washington, DC.
• Mom, How Did You Meet the Beatles? by Adrienne Kennedy and Adam Kennedy, Forward Theatre, Madison, WI.
• Arsenic and Old Lace by Joseph Kesselring, Court Theatre, Chicago, IL.
• The Native Son by Nambi Kelley, Mosiac Theatre, Washington, DC.
• Falsettos by Michael Finn and James Lapine, Howard County, MD.
• Boulevard of Dreams by LaDarrion Williams, TimeLine Theatre Company, Chicago, IL.
• Fences by August Wilson, Omaha Community Playhouse, Omaha, NE.
• Feeding Beatrice by Kirsten Greenidge, Forward Theatre, Madison, WI.
• Milk Like Sugar by Kirsten Greenidge, Mosaic Theatre, Washington, D.C.
• Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992, by Anna Deavere Smith, University of Maryland, College Park.