Rawson, Bramlett, Students Attend W.E.B DuBois Medal Ceremony

Principal William Rawson, Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Stephanie Bramlett and nine Exonians attended the annual W.E.B. DuBois Medal Ceremony at Harvard University’s Hutchins Center for African and African American Research on Tuesday, Oct. 22. This year, Director of the Hutchins Center and Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. presented seven medals to individuals who have made remarkable contributions to African American culture and history. This year’s recipients were Oscar-nominated actress Queen Latifah; Pulitzer Prize poet Rita Dove, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation president and 2019 Exeter Lamont Poet Elizabeth Alexander, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution Lonnie G. Bunch III, African American history-inspired artist Kerry James Marshall; philanthropist and first black, female American billionaire Sheila C. Johnson and entrepreneur and philanthropist Robert F. Smith. Former PEA trustee John Ettinger informed Rawson about Gates’ desire to invite the Academy and a group of Exonians to the ceremony. “[It was] an easy decision.” Rawson said. “I was proud to see an Exonian, Edgerley Family Dean of Faculty of Arts and Sciences Claudine Gay, introduce one of the honorees. The energy in the theater was fantastic. I was delighted with the experience and am glad the students felt that devoting the better part of a day was well worth it.” Bramlett believed exposure to a ceremony publicly recognizing high levels of black achievement would be inspirational for students. “[T]hese people are giants of blackademia (portmanteau of black-academia) and beacons of black excellence,” she said. “I wanted PEA students to see and hear from black living legends.” DuBois medal recipient Robert F. Smith, who has paid over 400 million dollars for students in debt at Morehouse College, was senior Maureena Murphy’s favorite speaker, as his emphasis on the importance of giving back resonated strongly with her. “I think we can each aspire to all of our careers that level of generosity,” she said. “It gave me a new sense of purpose that I can bring back to classes and dorm community.” For upper Panchali Choudhary, the engaging speeches, stories and lessons shared at the event in addition to the official award-giving ceremony was a pleasant surprise. “I think it really exceeded my expectations in that way because it became a learning experience,” she said. Senior Matthew Wabunoha agreed, saying, “There were a lot of speakers that I liked who were super charismatic and kept you captured. If you can keep me—a sleep deprived Exonian—awake, you did a good job.” Upper Dillon Mims was inspired by the scale of greatness he witnessed and hopes he may achieve similar feats in the future. “Something I’m taking back to Exeter is the notion of greatness. It often feels like something that is unattainable, but I saw it today and it was proximate and believable,” he said. Upper Sarah Huang was similarly enthusiastic to see people of color excel in their professions. “Today we got to see different forms of success, but in color. It’s so motivational to see all sorts of doors opened by these people—there’s this idea that they’re opening doors for generations to come,” she said. Senior Ayush Noori noted a resonating sense of community. “The community that these people were able to build is absolutely incredible,” he said, elaborating that the recipients were “able to overcome economic adversity and institutionalized barriers to knowledge. If they could do it, we should strive for stronger community at Exeter and in our lives.” Reflecting on her takeaways from the ceremony, Bramlett contemplated the future of race and identity at the Academy. “Wouldn’t it be great if we had a Center for Identity Studies at PEA? It could house ethnic studies, gender studies, class studies, etc.,” she said. “Sometimes we need to speak our dreams so that they can become reality.”