Columns, Opinion

EDITORIAL: Rihanna rightfully deserves humanitarian award

Most people would associate Rihanna with images of black umbrellas, a California king bed or finding love in a hopeless place. She’s been known for risqué music videos, provocative fashion statements and the image of a “bad girl.” RiRi has posted pictures to social media of drinks in hand, illegal drugs and extravagant party scenes. In an interview with USA TODAY, the celebrity was quoted saying “I can’t really say I’m a role model. I’m not perfect. I’m not trying to sell that.”

Perhaps, however, our initial perceptions of the Barbados native aren’t what truly lies beneath the surface. Harvard University certainly knew there was more to the singer than just promiscuous lyrics and videos. On Wednesday, the Ivy named Rihanna as the 2017 Harvard University Humanitarian of the Year, according to an article from The Boston Globe. Past recipients of this award include Malala Yousafzai, Lionel Richie and James Earl Jones.

The Harvard Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations decided to honor Rihanna because though she is most well-known for her music, the popstar has performed an incredible amount of charity work. Rihanna was involved in building a center at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Barbados for diagnosing and treating breast cancer. She also created the Clara Lionel Foundation Scholarship Program for Caribbean-born students hoping to study in the United States. Rihanna has clearly contributed to society on a humanitarian scale, through issues close to her heart.

Rihanna has dedicated a lot of time and passion to improving education and healthcare standards in the Caribbean countries. There may be others who also deserve the recognition of being a “humanitarian,” but that isn’t to say that Rihanna hasn’t earned it. At this point more attention needs to be paid to why an applicant is given an award rather than who it is. The causes Rihanna believes in will receive more attention because her work has been put in the spotlight. Her activism is receiving the recognition it deserves — that isn’t a reason to be cynical.

Harvard’s award is especially applicable to Rihanna because her efforts have been made for education. She’s supported the Global Partnership for Education and Global Citizen Project, becoming an ideal candidate for Harvard’s award. Rihanna also has a huge following on social media and as a celebrity, more so than other humanitarians who might not be as well-known. Her nomination might be better for the greater good as her name ultimately reaches the goal of these kind of awards — to bring interest and attention to the cause. This award, along with her name attached to it, could incentivize her own supporters to follow in her footsteps.

If you’re passionate about something, you should do it without having to announce it to the world. This concept applies to all celebrities becoming involved in activism. Though their involvement does bring more attention to a certain issue, many times propagation of their own association makes their intentions seem impure. Some would argue that you’re responsible for publicizing a cause if you’re dedicated to it, but that would be a generalization. Rihanna’s humanitarian efforts have been made for cancer research centers and scholarship programs — both extremely important causes — but both topics are already recognized as important issues. Publicity won’t do much for them at this point, while it would contribute to Rihanna’s reputation.

Many are surprised by this decision, not because it was a celebrity that was chosen, but because Rihanna has kept her charitable work out of the public eye. Though celebrities never do have a true sense of privacy, Rihanna has managed to stay away from publicizing her own self-image through her activist work. It shows the public that she doesn’t become involved in these causes to appease the public or to improve her image, but because she wanted to. We respect her more because her charitable actions haven’t been plastered all over her social media accounts or made into a documentary. In terms of what has made Rihanna famous, these efforts don’t make the front page. There’s something to be said that this was featured in The Boston Globe rather than a spread from People Magazine.

More Articles

One Comment

  1. Finally you guys are understanding this girl an not clouded by the smokescreen an hoopla of other stars