Harvard University Honours Entrepreneur Strive Masiyiwa
Harvard University has honoured Econet Group founder Strive Masiyiwa for his contributions to African and African American history and culture.
Masiyiwa was among eight individuals awarded the W. E. B. Du Bois Medal at the ninth Hutchins Centre Honours, hosted by the Hutchins Centre for African & African American Research at Harvard University on Tuesday.
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The W. E. B. Du Bois Medal is Harvard’s highest honour in African and African American studies. Henry Louis Gates Jr, Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director of the Hutchins Centre, said the award recognises dedication to combating societal ills such as racism, sexism and xenophobia.
“The Hutchins Centre recognises the contributions of these eight Du Bois Medallists whose genius is evident not only in their respective fields but also in their unwavering commitments to combating racism, sexism, and xenophobia, to protecting the freedom of thought and expression, and to celebrating the rich history and cultures of people of African descent throughout our rich diaspora,” Gates said.
Glenn H. Hutchins, co-founder of North Island and chairman of the Hutchins Centre’s National Advisory Board, praised the honourees for their transformative impact across academia, business, and the arts.
Harvard University Honours Entrepreneur Strive Masiyiwa
“We honour an extraordinary group of individuals whose accomplishments have created new standards in academia, education, sports, the arts, entertainment, and business. In addition to celebrating their achievements, our awards ceremony seeks to share their example with the many students who are able to join us, plus the broader community, and beyond. This is a group that inspires us all to persist in our work of bending the arc of history toward justice,” Hutchins said.
Masiyiwa serves on the boards of Netflix, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and National Geographic Society, having previously held roles at The Rockefeller Foundation and Unilever.
Alongside Masiyiwa, among this year’s W. E. B. Du Bois Medal are:
- Spike Lee, Academy Award-winning filmmaker,
- LeVar Burton, Emmy Award-winning actor and director,
- Kimberlé Crenshaw, legal scholar and co-founder of the African American Policy Forum,
- Kathy Delaney-Smith, Harvard University’s women’s basketball coach for 40 years,
- Thelma Golden, Director and Chief Curator of the Studio Museum in Harlem, and
- Francia Márquez Mina, Vice President of Colombia.
