Former fellow and Professor Emeritus of English at Stanford Arnold Rampersad has received the 2010 National Humanities Medal. President Obama bestowed the award to Rampersad and 9 other honorees at a White House ceremony on March 2, 2011. After the ceremony, the medalists and their families and friends joined the President and First Lady Michelle Obama for a reception in their honor.
Rampersad was honored for his work as a biographer and literary critic. His award-winning books have profiled W.E.B. Du Bois, Langston Hughes, Jackie Robinson, and Ralph Ellison. He has also edited critical editions of the works of Richard Wright and Langston Hughes (full profile).
The National Humanities Medal is the highest government honor given in recognition of outstanding achievements in history, literature, education, and cultural policy. It honors individuals or groups whose work has deepened the country’s understanding of the humanities, broadened our citizens’ engagement with the humanities, or helped preserve and expand Americans’ access to important resources in the humanities.
Since 1996, when the first National Humanities Medal was given, 125 individuals have been honored, inclusive of this year’s awardees. Nine organizations also received medals. Previous medalists include Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison, novelist John Updike, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel, sociologist Robert Coles, and filmmaker Steven Spielberg.
For more information, see the White House press release. A video and full transcript of the ceremony are also available on the White House website.
