Prolific Nigerian author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie made Nigerians proud by receiving the highest honour of Harvard University, the W. E. B. Du Bois Medal. She received the award given by Harvard in the field of African and African American studies on Thursday, October 7.
The W.E.B Du Bois medal has not been awarded to anyone since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Nigerian writer who was a speaker at the Harvard College Class Day in 2018 and previously a Harvard Radcliffe Institute Fellow between 2011 and 2012, now joins trailblazers like Muhammad Ali, Maya Angelou, Ava Duvernay, Dave Chappelle, Queen Latifah, Nasir “Nas” Jones, John Lewis, Steven Spielberg, athlete-activist Colin Kaepernick, and others who are past recipients of the medal. Other recipients of the award include Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Laverne Cox, Agnes Guns, Raymond J McGuire, Deval Patrick, and Betye Saar.
A professor of the university and director of the Hutchins centre said in a statement; “Whether they’ve distinguished themselves in the arts, civic life, education, athletics, activism, or any combination of the above, these medalists show in all that they do their unyielding commitment to pushing the boundaries of representation and creating opportunities for advancement and participation for people who have been too often shut out from the great promise of our times.”