The Emmy Award-winning creative will deliver the address at Barnard’s 131st commencement ceremony on May 17, 2023.

Barnard has announced Lena Waithe, the Emmy Award-winning writer, creator, producer, actor, and founder of Hillman Grad as the keynote speaker for Barnard’s 131st Commencement on May 17.

Waithe is known for creating the Showtime drama series The Chi and the 2020 film Queen & Slim, as well as her activist work in uplifting historically marginalized communities. In 2017, Waithe became the first African-American woman to win the Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for her work on the series Master of None. In addition to serving as keynote speaker, Waithe will also receive the Barnard Medal of Distinction.

Barnard also announced three other medalists, including author and photojournalist Lynsey Addario, diverse media artist Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons, and reproductive justice scholar and activist Loretta Ross.

The Barnard 2023 Commencement will take place at 4 pm on May 17, 2023, at Radio City Music Hall.

Lena Waithe via Wikimedia Commons