Senate Resolution No. 4402

BY: Senator PARKER

HONORING 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

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.