In the wake of violence in Charlottesville, Va., this year’s Hutchins Forum delved into issues surrounding free speech, confederate monuments and what to make of a president who has failed to unequivocally denounce neo-Nazis and white supremacists.
Filmmaker Ava DuVernay, actor and rapper LL Cool J, and six others received the W.E.B. Du Bois Medal—Harvard's highest honor in the field of African and African American Studies—before a zealous crowd in Sanders Theatre Wednesday afternoon.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — "Selma‚" director Ava DuVernay and rapper LL Cool J are among the recipients of Harvard University's 2017 W.E.B. Du Bois medals honoring those who have made significant contributions to African and African-American history and culture.
AFTER CAUSING A STIR when she announced the lengthy, provocative title of her latest exhibition at Sikkema Jenkins, Kara Walker is being honored with a W.E.B. Du Bois Medal from Harvard University's Hutchins Center for African & African American Research. Walker is among eight recipients of the 2017 award, including filmmaker Ava DuVernay, Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, and Ford Foundation President Darren Walker, who worked with Agnes Gund to establish an Art for Justice Fund that supports criminal justice reforms aimed at reducing mass incarceration.
Rap icon LL Cool J, filmmaker Ava DuVernay, Democratic strategist Donna Brazile, and artist Kara Walker are among those who will be celebrated next month during an annual ceremony at Harvard's Hutchins Center for African & African American Research.
