Our Reporter, Abuja
Celebrated Nigerian writer, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, has received the highest honour of Harvard University, the W. E. B. Du Bois Medal.
She received the medal at a ceremony on Thursday.
The W. E. B. Du Bois Medal is Harvard’s highest honour in the field of African and African American studies.
The award is given to individuals in the United States and across the globe in recognition of their contributions to African and African American culture and the life of the mind.
The Hutchins Center for African and African American Research had stated that the medal was for people “who embody the values of commitment and resolve that are fundamental to the Black experience in America”
Other recipients include famous basketball star, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Laverne Cox, Agnes Guns, Raymond J McGuire, Deval Patrick and Betye Saar.
Director of the Hutchins Center, Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., in an official statement, had said that the 2022 honourees represent “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.”
Dubois was the first African-American to earn a Harvard Ph.D. in 1895. Past recipients of the medal have included scholars, artists, writers, journalists, philanthropists, and public servants.
Meanwhile, former Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki had congratulated Adichie when she was named to receive the award.
Using his Twitter handle, the former Governor of Kwara State wrote: Nigerians have every reason to be inspired by Chimamanda Adichie (@ChimamandaReal) who will be receiving Harvard University’s Iconic W.E.B Du Bois Medal award on October 6th.
I cannot overemphasize how proud the entire nation is of all her achievements thus far, even as she continues to make history with her literary prowess and her unwavering spirit. Congratulations @ChimamandaReal!, he tweeted.
Adichie’s works include the novels, Purple Hibiscus (2003), which was awarded the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First Book (2005). Half of a Yellow Sun (2006), and Americanah (2013), which was selected by The New York Times as one of “The 10 Best Books of 2013.”
She has also in her collection short stories which include, The Thing Around Your Neck (2009), and the book-length essay, We Should All Be Feminists (2014). Her most recent books are Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions (2017), Zikora (2020) and Notes on Grief (2021).
She was the recipient of the PEN Pinter Prize in 2018.
Chimamanda Adichie, a proud Igbo daughter from Anambra State, was born in Enugu, South-East of Nigeria as the fifth of six children. She was raised in the university town of Nsukka in Enugu State.
