All Scholars

On November 9, 1970, the President of France, Georges Pompidou, announced the death of Charles de Gaulle to a grieving nation.  In a most memorable and epigrammatic turn of phrase he gravely intoned, “La France est veuve.”  I borrowed these words in reporting on the passing of Professor Snowden at a meeting of the faculty shortly after his death.  I felt then and still believe today that they were apt.  The academy at large, Howard University and the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Department of Classics in particular would henceforth be bereft of a towering figure.The Department had lost its long-time absolute (and, on occasion, absolutist!) leader, its undeniable commander-in-chief, its most fervent promoter, its moral compass, its very soul.

Professor Snowden had a long and celebrated life in a variety of professional vocations––scholar, instructor, administrator, diplomat.  In his scholarship he blazed a trail in an area that he made virtually his own, the study of Blacks in antiquity. By the time I arrived at Howard University in 1984, Professor Snowden had already been formally retired for several years, though he did continue to teach now and then.  I beheld him in action, holding forth in the classroom in his mainstay course, ‘Blacks in Antiquity’ and I quickly came to realize from his booming voice and uncompromising pronouncements why he had been dubbed ZEUS by his students already in the 1940s. By the time I became Chairman of the Department in 1998, he was fully in retirement, but he remained a constant reader of both Greek and Latin texts. His and his wife’s health declined more and more, necessitating a move from their spacious and well-appointed condominium.  I helped with the administration of his extensive collection of books, many of which were donated to our departmental library. Thereafter I made periodic visits to have lunch and chat about various topics, among them the progress of our students.  Although his memory was no longer as keen as it had been, there were obvious sparks when the conversation veered to the discipline of classics––and Harvard.  On my final visit I arrived wearing a t-shirt which I had purchased in Cambridge and which spelled out in large letters HAHVAHD.  He chuckled with appreciation, mocking himself for this reminder of his own articulation of his beloved alma mater.

Two events coincided in 2001 to honor the grand achievements of Professor Snowden. The Department had finally succeeded in establishing a series of annual lectures as a tribute, a series that has presented scholarship in the classical world tailored mostly to a broad undergraduate audience. The inaugural lecture was delivered in 2003 by Professor Danielle Allen.  While all of the presentations have graciously acknowledged Professor Snowden’s scholarship and impact to varying degrees, two have been especially noteworthy in more fully embracing and engaging his life and his particular interests.  Thus, in 2012 Professor Emily Greenwood lectured on "Herodotus’ Ethiopians and the Politics of Back Classicism after Snowden," a most timely reminder of his continued relevance. The highlight, as many of us would agree, occurred at the fifth annual lecture in 2007, delivered by Professor Frank M. Snowden III. He thrilled the large assembly of current and former students and alumni (some from the 1940s and 1950s who were/are members of the Howard University faculty) with his poignant, humorous, and insightful reminiscences of his father.  His presentation was aptly titled ‘Growing Up with Zeus: Memories of Childhood, Black Athena, and Frank M. Snowden, Jr.’

Even more profound perhaps was the second event. I received a call from the National Endowment for the Humanities, swearing me to silence but asking that I help arrange for a White House tribute to Professor Snowden.  He would be joined by other luminaries, such as John Updike, in receiving the National Humanities Medal.  The words with which he was introduced deserve to be quoted:  “Frank M. Snowden, Jr., for a life of eminent scholarship, inspirational teaching, public service, and personal courage on behalf of civilization’s noblest ideals.  A lionhearted classicist, he is an Olympian man.”  Of course he was; after all, he was ZEUS!

Professor Snowden and the Howard University Department of Classics have always been synonymous terms. Without his deep and vast learning, passion, determination, leadership, and commitment to excellence, Classics might not have flourished as long as it did at the University.  Although our program, as is the case with many humanities departments throughout the nation, no longer offers a Classics major, we continue to instill in the hearts and minds of those students who take courses in antiquity the rich and pervasive impact of the scholarship of our undisputed master.