Honorary Doctorate from Oberlin College
Poet involved
What happened
Robert Nathaniel Dett received an honorary doctoral degree from his alma mater, Oberlin College in Ohio, where he had been the first person of African descent to graduate. The honor came nearly two decades after his original degree.
Literary impact
Receiving this honor from the institution where he first encountered the formal study of spirituals brought Dett's career full circle, affirming the path he charted since his student days. It reinforced Oberlin's own legacy in racially integrated musical education.
Source: Wikipedia
