Rosenwald Foundation Grant (1944)
National Book Award (1953)
National Newspaper Publisher's Russwurm Award (1953)
Chicago Defender's Award (1953)
Member, Century Association (1964)
Kennedy Center Trustee (1967-1977)
Presidential Medal of Freedom (1969)
Chevalier, Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (1970)
Board of Directors, Museum of the City of New York (1970-1985)
Member, American Academy of Arts and Letters (1975)
Langston Hughes Medallion (1984)
National Medal of Arts (1985)
Special Achievement Award, Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards (1992)