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British actress Adjoa Andoh will address the Harvard College Class of 2021 at its in-person Class Day Dinner on May 28, the 2021 Class Committee announced in an email Tuesday.
Class Day, an annual tradition to celebrate Harvard College graduates, typically includes remarks from a featured speaker and College Dean Rakesh Khurana on the day before University-wide Commencement exercises. The Classes of 2020 and 2021 are set to have joint on-campus exercises after the University postponed their in-person Commencements due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Andoh, who is best known for her role as Lady Danbury in the television series “Bridgerton,” has also appeared in the long-running sci-fi show “Doctor Who” and the medical drama series “Casualty,” which has aired since 1986.
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In addition to acting in television shows, Andoh has taken stage roles with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre in England and starred in the 2009 movie “Invictus.”
Class Committee Secretary Devin B. Srivastava ’21 wrote in a statement that Andoh will address Harvard’s “first majority-minority class in its 380-year history” and referenced the University’s recent release of its landmark Legacy of Slavery report.
“Our class is graduating as Harvard just released a report on our institution’s complicity in slavery and announced $100 million dollars to fund a process of reckoning and repair,” wrote Srivastava, a former Crimson News editor. “As Harvard thinks about representation and storytelling, our class will uniquely benefit from hearing from an artist like Ms. Andoh who has been telling stories and representing others for her entire career.”
Second Marshal Prashanth “PK” Kumar ’21 wrote in a statement that the Class Committee is “ecstatic” for Andoh to speak at the Class Day Dinner and said her energy would “add another highlight” to in-person festivities.
“The Class of 2021 had requested someone who embodies the spirit, drive, and intellect of our class, and we believe we found these qualities in Adjoa, especially while watching her performances in the hit show Bridgerton,” Kumar wrote.
Last year, professional basketball player Jeremy Lin ’10 addressed the Class of 2021 virtually, calling on graduates to embrace their identities and life experiences post-graduation.
The 2021 Class Committee also recently announced that they would distribute “commemorative” non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, to members of the Class of 2021 during Commencement festivities.
Boston mayor Michelle Wu ’07 is set to address the Class of 2022 during its Class Day on May 25, while American actor Ashton Kutcher will speak to the Class of 2020 during their Class Day Dinner three days later.
—Staff writer Vivi E. Lu can be reached at vivi.lu@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @vivielu_.
—Staff writer Leah J. Teichholtz can be reached at leah.teichholtz@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @LeahTeichholtz.
