Chimamanda Adichie delivers lecture at American University commencement ceremony

Renowned writer, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie delivered the commencement address to the College of Arts and Sciences at the 137th commencement ceremony of the American University on May 11th, 2019.

The commencement ceremonies which held on May 11th and 12th, 2019, had speakers from across different spheres – politics, arts, finance, communications and justice – in its line up.

Alongside Chimamanda Adichie, some other speakers were former Democrat candidate for governor and minority leader of the Georgia House of Representatives, Stacey Abrams, and president of Viacom Nickelodeon Consumer Products, Pam Kaufman who both spoke at the School of Public Affairs and School of Communications respectively.

Chimamanda Adichie was also awarded an honorary degree by the American University. This would be the 8th honorary degree received by Adichie from a major US university in light of her exceptional achievements as a novelist and speaker.

Her award-winning novels, short-stories and talks have been celebrated globally and have arguably set the tone for conversations about feminism amongst other topics. Her last publication was titled “Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions,” in March 2017.

Her 2009 TED talk, “The Danger of a Single Story,” has over 17 million views, making it one of the most viewed talks of all time, and is required viewing in the first-year AUx curriculum.

She is also well known for her critically acclaimed books “Half of a Yellow Sun,” “Americanah” and the book-length essay “We Should All Be Feminists.