African women are making exploits and Chimamanda Adichie has once again experienced another “first” as she will be the first black woman to deliver the commencement speech at the University of Pennsylvania in 42 years after then-Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Patricia Harris did so in 1978.
Students of the University of Pennsylvania, one of the 8 Ivy League universities in the USA, burst into celebration as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was announced the speaker for the 2020 Commencement Day.
The student newspaper, The Daily Pennsylvanian, reported the excitement and praise of students and staff of the institution. Below are some:
Students’ comments
Undergraduate Assembly President Natasha Menon had only praise for Adichie’s 2009 TED Talk, “The Danger of a Single Story” saying, “The way she’s able to tell stories and talk about really pressing issues is pretty extraordinary.”
College senior Maria Curry further said that Adichie’s status as an author adds variety to Penn’s past commencement speakers which featured politicians and entertainers.
Another College senior, Nyazia Sajdah-Bey was excited noting that she first heard of Adichie when she read Americanah in high school and became more familiar with her through TED Talks and Beyonce’s song Flawless, which featured a sample of Adichie’s 2012 TED Talk “We should all be feminists.” she further added that she is “really happy to be graduating on the day of her speech.”
Additionally, students who are not graduating joined in the excitement. College junior Tuti Gomoka said that she will attend the commencement to hear Adichie’s speech, noting that Adichie has been her favourite author since she was 15 years old. “Whenever I’m in doubt about anything, I always just go and read one of her books,” she says.
Chimamanda Adiche is not only known for writing award-winning novels, she is also known for giving astounding speeches all over the globe.
She always left memorable quotes and life lessons to be reminisced about consistently. Her 2009 TED talk titled The Danger of a Single Story focuses on the stereotypes generated from knowing only a single narrative, which is the same with her talks on feminism and gender equality.
She has the rare distinction of having delivered graduation speeches to students at the two top Ivy League universities, Yale and Harvard where she urged graduands to uphold the truth.