Perseverance was a theme at this year’s W.E.B. Du Bois Medal awards. So too was courage.

“Understand that there will be times when you will have to stand alone. There will be no one else that will believe in your dream,” Queen Latifah, hip-hop artist, actor, and medal recipient, told a packed audience Tuesday evening at Sanders Theatre. “There are plenty of people who told us we will never be where we are today … but we don’t believe those people. You have to be strong and be courageous and just know that if you believe in it, it’s going to happen. Don’t give up. Do not quit....

Read more about Harvard Gazette: 'Persistence, courage take the dais'

In 1895, W.E.B. Du Bois became the first black student to earn a doctorate from Harvard. Over a century later, Queen Latifah is being honored by the prestigious institution with an award bearing his name.

Music artist and actress Queen Latifah is among the honorees being recognized by Harvard University this year for their contributions to black history and culture.

Music artist and actress Queen Latifah is among the honorees being recognized by Harvard University this year for their contributions to black history and culture. Harvard is set to award the W.E.B. Du Bois Medal to Queen Latifah and six other recipients on October 22.

Oscar-nominated actress Queen Latifah and Pulitzer Prize winning-poet Rita Dove will receive the W.E.B. Du Bois medal alongside five other recipients, the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research announced Tuesday.

Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. opened this year’s Hutchins Forum by speaking about the past in order to draw parallels with the present state of life in America.