Queen Latifah to Receive WEB Du Bois Medal from Harvard for Her Contributions to Black Culture

Harvard University is reportedly set to award American actress Queen Latifah and six others for their excellent contributions to Black history and culture on October 22.

Queen Latifah, whose real name is Dana Elaine Owens, is doing the African-American community very proud as news of her being an honoree goes about the media.

The famous entertainer, who is known for her award-winning works as an actress, musician, and film producer, is among the honorees being recognized by Harvard University.

C.B.S. News shares that Harvard is already prepared to award the W.E.B. Du Bois Medal to Queen Latifah and six other people later this month.

They have also disclosed that Cambridge, Massachusetts, school's Hutchins Center for African and African American Research will be presenting the medal.

The W.E.B. Du Bois Medal is named after William Edward Burghardt Du Bois, a scholar, writer, editor, and civil rights pioneer who became the first black student to earn a doctorate from Harvard in 1895.

It is reported that a past recipient of the award is widely acclaimed rapper Nas who was an honoree in 2013; he also had Harvard establishing the "Nasir Jones Hip-Hop Fellowship" in his honor.

For this year, Queen Latifah is the lucky recipient, and she is included on a list of seven people who will be honored by Harvard.

The list of honorees to be awarded also reportedly includes 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.

There couldn't be anyone more deserving of the Du Bois medal than Latifah whose career has spanned over three decades.

Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album All Hail the Queen on November 28, 1989, featuring the hit single "Ladies First."

Latifah, who marked her 49th birthday a few months ago, has since grown to become a significant figure in the entertainment industry.

The long list of her awards includes a Grammy Award, with six nominations, a Golden Globe Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and many more others.

It is thanks to all these that Latifah has carved a niche for herself, as well as many more people of the black race, especially in the entertainment, and it makes it no surprise that she is getting the Du Bois Medal.