6 Brainy, Beautiful Black Women Who Graduated From Harvard

L–R: Michelle Obama, Yara Shahidi, Tatyana Ali, Tyra Banks. Source: Kevin Winter / Getty Images, Cindy Ord / Getty Images, Cindy Ord / Getty Images for ESSENCE, Alexander Tamargo / Getty Images for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit. Art Design: Siobhan Dixon.

The ability to attain a quality education continues to be a struggle for many Black people in America. Whether it is due to financial hardships, a failing curriculum that aims to remove any knowledge of “critical race theory,” or changing societal values that prioritize entertainment and sports, according to Nelson Mandela, “education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

Today, January 30, marks the birthday of Richard Theodore Greener, Harvard University’s first Black graduate. Born in Philadelphia in 1844, he moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, with his parents at age nine. Two years later his father abandoned the family to chase the California Gold Rush and Greener was forced to drop out of school at just 11 to help support the household.

His various jobs exposed him to some of Boston’s Harvard-connected elites including a jeweler named Augustus Batchelder who “was itching to see the educational experiment of a black student succeeding at Andover carried on to Harvard.” Batchelder decided to fund Greener’s education and in 1865 the Ivy League university admitted the 21-year-old student.

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Source: Heritage Images / Getty

As the only Black student at Harvard, Greener lived in College House then considered the “poor and struggling” housing. Suffice it to say, he was an obvious outsider among the blue-blooded white student body who he said spread vicious rumors about him, including “that I had escaped from slavery.”

Despite these adversities, he participated in extracurricular activities and excelled academically throughout his studies. Greener graduated with honors and a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1870.

The rest of his impressive career was filled with many more firsts such as him becoming the first Black professor at the University of South Carolina where he taught metaphysics, Latin, Greek, and constitutional history.

He even rivaled renowned abolitionist Frederick Douglass with the two powerhouses facing off in a public debate over the future of Black leadership and politics in 1883. Unlike Douglass, who implored Black activists to work with “the system,” Greener advocated for a more independent approach that did not rely on white allies.

In 1922 Greener died at age 78, after settling with family on the South Side of Chicago, incidentally the perfect segue to the first lady—no pun intended—on our list.

Harvard Law School graduates take part in the Black Commencement, a university-wide ceremony for Black students, designed to celebrate their unique struggles and achievements. Source: Boston Globe / Getty

Since Greener, plenty of notable Blacks have graduated from the elite institution, which has grappled with its historical ties to and legacy of slavery in recent years. W.E.B. Du Bois, Barack Obama, Cornel West, Courtney B. Vance, John Legend, and Hill Harper all call Harvard their alum mater.

But here at MadameNoire, we specialize in showing love to the sisters. So, here’s a list of six famous Black females who graduated from the iconic Ivy League university.

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1. Michelle Obama, 61

Source: Chip Somodevilla / Getty

Former First Lady Michelle Obama “started out with very little” growing up on the South Side of Chicago where she attended the city’s public schools. Still, despite humble beginnings, she understood that “with a lot of hard work and a good education, anything is possible.”

Obama went on to study sociology and African-American studies at the prestigious Princeton University. Then she cemented her Ivy League status by graduating from Harvard Law School in 1988.

The former FLOTUS is a staunch believer that people need to “empower yourselves with a good education” and she used her time in the White House as an opportunity to advocate.

In 2014 Obama launched the Reach Higher initiative, which encourages post-secondary studies, whether at a professional trade school, community college, or a four-year college or university. Then in 2015, she kicked off the Let Girls Learn initiative to help adolescent girls get a quality education.

2. Yara Shahidi, 24

Source: Cindy Ord / Getty Images

For 10 years, Yara Shahidi played the popular social media-obsessed teenager Zoey Johnson on ABC’s Black-ish and its spin-off series Grown-ish. But the talented actress says in real life, “I was always a nerd, always straight As.”

The model credits her mother, Keri Shahidi, a successful actress, for her wanting a well-balanced quality of life: “She’s the one that really set the standard to say that acting is something that we do, but it’s not who we are.”

Still, it was Shahidi’s cousin, rapper Nas, who exposed her to the prospect of studying at Harvard. He invited the mother-daughter duo to the announcement of the Nasir Jones Hiphop Fellowship at the institution because he thought Shahidi “would enjoy it.”

L–R: Yara Shahidi and Nas pose as Max Mara celebrates Yara Shahidi at the 2023 WIF Max Mara Face of the Future Award Recipient Cocktail Event on Nov. 29, 2023, in Los Angeles. Source: Vivien Killilea / Getty Images for Max Mara

“It was the first time that I saw Black and brown students in an Ivy League environment,” she recalled on the Sherri show, explaining that before visiting the campus “I just didn’t even think there was space for me at Harvard.”

After receiving a recommendation letter from Michelle Obama The Optimist Project host graduated in May 2022, earning a Bachelor of Arts from the African American studies department with a “[concentration] on Black political thought under a neocolonial landscape.”

3. Tyra Banks, 51

Source: Photos from James Beard Foundation 2019 Media Awards gala provided by John Roth / Kent Goodman

The multitalented Tyra Banks wears a plethora of fashionable hats including talk show host, New York Times best-selling author, and, of course, supermodel. So, we’ve always known that she’s much more than just a pretty face. But did you know that one of her fanciest accessories is a Harvard graduation cap?

“Harvard is all about innovation and being first to market,” she told Business Week, after completing the nine-week Owner/President Management Program (OPM) at Harvard Business School and earning a certificate in 2012.

When the America’s Next Top Model host returned in 2023 to deliver the graduation speech at her alma mater, she shared that studying at Harvard “changed my life.”

4. Rashida Jones, 48

Source: Jamie McCarthy / Getty

Actress and filmmaker, Rashida Jones is most famous for her comedic talents on the NBC TV mockumentaries The Office and Parks and Recreation. But before following in the footsteps of her late father, music producer Quincy Jones, and pursuing a career in entertainment she planned to be a lawyer.

However, Jones instead took her own advice: “Don’t just follow the rules because it has always worked out that way in the past.” She went on to study philosophy and religion at Harvard University, graduating in 1997 and started her professional acting career the next year.

In Spring 2016 she did mimic her dad when she was named the Harvard Class Day speaker—Quincy gave the address at her graduation nearly 20 years prior.

“Here’s the simple truth: you are the only one who can create the life you want,” the outspoken actress told graduating seniors. “And you may have to break some rules to do that.”

5. Tatyana Ali, 46

Source: Cindy Ord / Getty Images for ESSENCE

For six seasons viewers watched Tatyana Ali tackle teenage angst in the beloved role of Ashley Banks on NBC’s The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

On the ’90s sitcom, her character secretly dropped out of her pricey private academy and transferred to a public school to get a more worldly educational experience.

Similarly, Ali normalized her life as a successful Hollywood actress by attending Harvard University following her run on the hit TV show. She graduated in 2002 with a BA in African-American history and government.

The five-time NAACP Image Award winner confessed she was surprised by how many Black students attended the Ivy League university. “This is something that people don’t know about Harvard,” she said. “There’s actually a pretty substantial population of students of color.”

During her studies, she immersed herself in the culture of the Black student body by participating in various events and extra-curricular activities, including joining the step team.

“We had so much fun,” said the mom of two boys before adding, “I wouldn’t even dare do a step now!”

6. Aoki Lee Simmons, 22 

Source: Jamie McCarthy / Getty

Aoki Lee Simmons is the youngest daughter of Def Jam Records co-founder Russell Simmons and fashion designer/former model Kimora Lee Simmons. So, it comes as no surprise that she “would like to change the idea that you can’t be smart and pretty, or you can’t be smart and enjoy your looks.”

At just 16, Aoki made history as one of the youngest Black women to get accepted to Harvard. What’s more, she also decided to pursue a modeling career while studying.

When questioned on Instagram about her decision to split her time between these two seemingly dissimilar passions she simply responded, “models aren’t uneducated.”

In June 2023, the then-20-year-old earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with a concentration in classics from the Ivy League school for which she told People magazine: “I feel grateful, proud and relieved—in that order!”

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