Olubunmi Odejimi
Harvard, an Ivy League University in the United States has awarded Internationally recognized Nigerian author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche with the W.E.B Du Bois Medal, the highest honor of the University.
The W. E. B. Du Bois Medal is Harvard’s highest honour in the field of African and African American studies and is awarded 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 medal had not been received by anyone since the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
Chimamanda Adichie author of notable works such as the purple hibiscus, half of a yellow sun, Americana, etc. is an author known for her advocacy for gender equality and her excellent storytelling.
She has received several international awards such as the Best First Book (Africa) in the Commonwealth writers prize in 2005 for purple heart, which also received an award for the Best First Book (Overall) in the Commonwealth writers prize that year. The writer’s second novel, Half of a yellow sun, which was published in 2006, became an international best seller, received an award from the orange Broadband prize for fiction in 2007.
Other recipients of the W. E. B. Du Bois Medal include Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Laverne Cox, Agnes Guns, Raymond J McGuire, Deval Patrick and Betye Saar.
