Friday, February 26, 2010

Gordon-Reed awarded National Humanities Medal

Legal Historian Annette Gordon-Reed, author of The Hemingses of Monticello and other works, was awarded a National Humanities Medal at the White House yesterday. Also honored were Robert A. Caro ("The Years of Lyndon Johnson: The Path to Power, Means of Ascent and Master of the Senate"), David Levering Lewis ("W.E.B. Du Bois: The Fight for Equality and the American Century, 1919-1963") and William H. McNeill ("Plagues and Peoples"). Others honored ranged from Bob Dylan to Elie Weisel to Kennedy speechwriter Theodore Sorensen. The story is here. Hat tip to Ralph Luker.