Honor David Levering Lewis

24, 2018 WHEREAS, From time to time this Legislative Body takes note of certain extraordinary individuals it wishes to recognize for their valued contributions to the success and progress of society and publicly acknowledge their endeavors which have enhanced the basic humanity among us all; and WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its long-standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to honor David Levering Lewis upon the occasion of his designation as recipient of the W.E.B. Du Bois Award by The Center for Black Literature to be celebrated at its Tribute and Awards Program in the Founders Auditorium on Saturday, March 24, 2018, at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn, New York; and WHEREAS, In 2003, The Center for Black Literature was founded to expand, broaden, and enrich the public's knowledge and aesthetic appreciation of the value of Black literature through a series of programs which serve as a forum for the research and study of this subject; and WHEREAS, The Center for Black Literature supports various literary programs and events such as author signings, writing workshops, panel discussions, conferences and symposia; and WHEREAS, David Levering Lewis is receiving this auspicious award for his outstanding historical and biographical work in American letters, and his overall body of work; and WHEREAS, David Levering Lewis earned his Master of Arts degree in history from Columbia University in 1959; he furthered his education by obtaining his Ph.D. from the London School of Economics and Political Science in 1963; and WHEREAS, This brilliant man enjoyed a long and distinguished teaching career at several top colleges including the University of Notre Dame, Howard University, University of California-San Diego, Rutgers-New Brunswick, and Harvard University; and WHEREAS, In 2002, David Levering Lewis relinquished the Rutgers professorship established in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. and joined New York University's history department the next year as a Julius Silver Professor; in 2005, he became Julius Silver University Professor and Professor of History; and WHEREAS, An accomplished writer, David Levering Lewis wrote nine books about various historical subjects such as Prisoners of Honor: The Dreyfus Affair, King: A Critical Biography, When Harlem Was in Vogue, The Race to Fashoda: European Colonialism and African Resistance to the Scramble for Africa, W.E.B. Du Bois: The Fight for Equality and the American Century, and God's Crucible: Islam and the Making of Europe,

570 to 1215; he recently published The Improbable Wendell Willkie: The Businessman Who Saved His Party, His Country's Allies, and Conceived a New World Order; and WHEREAS, David Levering Lewis has received fellowships from the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars two times, the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, the John D. and Catharine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the American Academy in Berlin; he is also a fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and the American Philosophical Society; and WHEREAS, David Levering Lewis has also served as a Trustee of the National Humanities Center, Commissioner of the National Portrait Gallery, Senator of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, and President of the Society of American Historians; and WHEREAS, In 2010, he was the recipient of the National Humanities Medal by President Barack Obama at the White House; and WHEREAS, In August of 2013, David Levering Lewis officially retired from New York University as a Julius Silver University Professor and Professor of History Emeritus; on May 11, 2015, he received the Arthur Meier Schlesinger Distinguished Service Award by the Society of American Historians; and WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body that when individuals of such noble aims and accomplishments are brought to our attention, they should be celebrated and recognized by all the citizens of this great Empire State; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to honor David Levering Lewis upon the occasion of his designation as recipient of the W.E.B. Du Bois Award by The Center for Black Literature on March 24, 2018; and be it further RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted to David Levering Lewis.