Oprah Winfrey and activist-song writer Harry Belafonte were honored at Harvard University on Tuesday for its annual celebration of African American culture. They were presented the W.E.B Du Bois medals along with eight other people that included David Adjaye, a British architect, civil rights hero U.S. Rep. John Lewis, “12 Years A Slave” director Steve McQueen, “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Scandal” creator Shonda Rhimes, and movie producer Harvey Weinstein. Winfrey also accepted a posthumous award at the ceremony for the poet Maya Angelou who died earlier this year. The medal hasn’t been awarded since 2000 and is Harvard’s highest honor in their African American Studies field.
Du Bois, who was a scholar that founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, is a native of Massachusetts and a Harvard graduate.

Photo Credit: AP Photo/Steven Senne

by Elizabeth Tawose