Muhammad Ali, former attorney general Eric Holder, Children’s Defense Fund founder Marian Wright Edelman, Ariel Investments president and DreamWorks Animation SKG board chairman Mellody Hobson, journalist Charlayne Hunter-Gault, rapper Nasir “Nas” Jones, and artist Carrie Mae Weems were honored with the 2015 W.E.B. Du Bois Medals at Harvard in September of this year.
Awarded since 2000, the Du Bois Medal is Harvard’s highest honor in the field of African and African American Studies. It is awarded to individuals in the U.S. and across the globe in recognition of their contributions to African American culture and the life of the mind.
The Hutchins Center for African & African American Research hosted the celebration at Sanders Theatre. Ali picked up the honor earlier in September, but a video of his presentation played during the ceremony.
Last year’s honorees included
Shonda Rhimes,
Maya Angelou, and
Harvey Weinstein.
article by Meredith Goldstein via bostonglobe.com; additions by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
