Colson Whitehead Receives National Humanities Medal

Colson Whitehead, the best-selling author with ties to Sag Harbor, was one of 11 recipients of a 2021 National Humanities Medal on Tuesday, March 21, at the White House.

During an East Room ceremony, President Joe Biden presented the medal to Whitehead, whose novels include “The Underground Railroad,” “The Nickel Boys” — both of which earned Whitehead the Pulitzer Prize for fiction — “Harlem Shuffle,” “John Henry Days” and the semi-autobiographical “Sag Harbor.”

During his opening remarks, Biden praised Whitehead for winning Pulitzer Prizes for back-to-back works, and, in an allusion to his 2024 reelection bid, joked that he, too, is looking for back-to-back wins.

“Incredible, man,” Biden told Whitehead. “That’s pretty damn impressive.”

Back on script, the president said: “From coming of age to crime to science fiction to even zombies, he’s one of America’s great storytellers, bringing fresh perspective to the legacy of the original sin of slavery, elevating a nation’s consciousness around truth and justice.”

Whitehead’s White House citation reads: “With genre-defying craftsmanship and creativity, Colson Whitehead’s celebrated novels make real the African American journey through our Nation’s continued reckoning with the original sin of slavery and our ongoing march toward a more perfect Union.”

The National Humanities Medal was created in 1997 to honor an individual or organization “whose work has deepened the nation’s understanding of the human experience, broadened citizens’ engagement with history or literature, or helped preserve and expand Americans’ access to cultural resources.”

In addition to his Pulitzer Prizes, Whitehead’s past honors include being named the New York’s 11th State Author in 2018 and earning the 2016 National Book Award for fiction for “The Underground Railroad.”

“The National Humanities Medal recipients have enriched our world through writing that moves and inspires us; scholarship that enlarges our understanding of the past; and through their dedication to educating, informing, and giving voice to communities and histories often overlooked,” said National Endowment for the Humanities Chair Shelly C. Lowe in a statement from the White House.