19/11/2023
I have a love/hate relationship with accolades — if I receive one, what exactly does it mean? Am I a better person after the reception than I am before it? Are all the people who didn’t receive it less cool than me? Or am I the same? If I am the same, then what is the point of it all? So I looked up the Oxford Languages (powered by Google) definition of the word “accolade” and there I found enlightenment. It’s the second definition of the word that really gets me excited.
accolade /ˈakəleɪd,ˌakəˈleɪd/
2. a touch on a person's shoulders with a sword at the bestowing of a knighthood.
So, gentlepeople at the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, I will accept this gracious nomination into your storied and noble ranks in the spirit of definition number two of the word accolade (early 17th century: from French, from Provençal acolada, literally ‘embrace around the neck (when bestowing knighthood)’, from Latin ad- ‘at, to’ + collum ‘neck’.), i.e., as a knight of the banjo, as a champion of unheard voices and hidden histories, and as a guardian of American personhood, to wit — those who have always been here and those who have come or been brought here are all representative of the American story.
I started in jest, but I end in deadly earnest — the claustrophobia of ignorance has only one remedy — the light and air of education and critical thinking. It is as dire as it has ever been — may we all play our part for a better world.
Thank you for my neck hug. Excited to receive my sword. Sending all my best to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and all the other inductees receiving their awards at today's ceremony.