Queen Latifah among 7 to receive Harvard University W.E.B. Du Bois Medal for contributions to black history and culture

2019 MTV Video Music Awards VMA at Prudential Center

Newark native Queen Latifah walks down the red carpet. The Red carpet arrivals at the Prudential Center for the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs). Monday August 26, 2019. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media) Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media

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 Oct. 22, according to the Cambridge, Massachusetts, school's Hutchins Center for African and African American Research.

Other honorees include poet and educator Elizabeth Alexander, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution Lonnie Bunch III, poet Rita Dove, co-founder of Black Entertainment Television Sheila Johnson, artist Kerry James Marshall and Robert Smith, founder, chairman and chief executive of Vista Equity Partners.

The award is named after Du Bois, a scholar, writer, editor, and civil rights pioneer who became the first black student to earn a doctorate from Harvard in 1895.

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.