Dave Chappelle and Colin Kaepernick’s contributions to the Black community have earned them the W.E.B. Du Bois Medal from Harvard University.
On Thursday (Sept. 20) Chappelle and Kaep will be honored along with eight others for their positive progressions in Black history. In a statement, the Harvard’s Hutchins Center for African American Research said, “The medal honors those who have made significant contributions to African and African-American history and culture, and more broadly, individuals who advocate for intercultural understanding and human rights in an increasingly global and interconnected world.”
In addition to Kaepernick and Chappelle, the six other recipients include #KennethChenault, chairman and a managing director of General Catalyst; #ShirleyAn Jackson, president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; #PamelaJoyner, founder of Avid Partners, LLC; psychologist and author #FlorenceLadd; #BryanStevenson, founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative; and artist #KehindeWiley.
The medal is given to people who are “emerging from a variety of backgrounds and professions, each represents the quest for knowledge, freedom of expression, and pursuit of truth that are foundational to black history and culture, and that were foundational to Du Bois as a thinker and activist,” said #HenryLouisGates Jr., director of the Hutchins Center. Both Chappelle and Kaepernick exemplify just that. Kap, the former quarterback for the 79ers, gave up his career and became dedicated to fighting social and racial injustice after kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality. While Chappelle has contributed content and culture with his iconic Comedy Central show #ChappellesShow. He’s also won two Emmy’s and one Grammy, in addition to producing and writing for several TV projects.
They will be given the honor by the Hutchins Center for African American Research at Harvard on Oct. 11.
