(NATIONAL CIVIL RIGHTS MUSEUM NEWS RELEASE) – Thursday the National Civil Rights Museum announced three individuals who will be honored with The Freedom Award, the museum’s signature event that pays tribute to outstanding individuals for their significant contributions to civil and human rights.
TheFreedom Award will be presented October 30, 2019 at the Orpheum Theatre. The Ceremonywill be preceded by the Pre-Show Gala at the Halloran Centre for the PerformingArts.
The 28thFreedom Award honorees are HAFSAT ABIOLA, GLORIA STEINEM and JOHN LEGEND.
HAFSAT ABIOLA is a Nigerian human rights, civilrights and democracy activist. She is President of Women in Africa. (WIA),the first global platform dedicated to the economic development and support ofleading and high potential African women. WIA supports, accompanies andcontributes to the promotion of a new generation of African women tothe service of an inclusive and innovative Africa. Through hernon-profit, the Kudirat Initiative for Democracy (KIND), she has worked topromote exemplary women leaders and build pathways to public service forthem. Motivated by women’s strength, Hafsat Abiola believes that thechallenges facing the continent of Africa offer opportunities for women’sleadership to emerge. Her work is a tribute to her parents who lost their liveswhile leading the democracy movement that brought an end to military rule inNigeria in the ‘90s.
GLORIA STEINEM is a writer, lecturer, political activist, andfeminist organizer. She travels globally as an organizer and lecturer and is afrequent spokeswoman on issues of equality. She is particularly interested inthe shared origins of gender and race caste systems, in non-violent conflictresolution, in the cultures of indigenous peoples, and in organizing acrossboundaries for peace and justice. She co-founded the Women’s Action Alliance, apioneering national information center that specialized in non-sexist, multi-racialchildren’s education, and the National Women’s Political Caucus, a groupfounded to advance the numbers of pro-equality women in elected and appointedoffice. She is the founding president of the Ms. Foundation for Women, anational multi-racial, multi-issue fund that supports grassroots projects toempower women and girls. She was a member of the Beyond Racism Initiative, athree-year effort on the part of activists and experts from South Africa,Brazil and the United States to compare the racial patterns and to learncross-nationally.
JOHN LEGEND is a leading recording artist who uses hisinfluence and resources to promote social justice and equality. It was forthis purpose that he launched the Show Me Campaign in 2007. Drawinginspiration from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his contemporaries, John Legendbelieves that all children deserve a quality education that interrupts thecycle of poverty and allows them to fulfill their full potential. His recording “Preach” targets a brokencriminal justice system begging for reform. His mini-series Can’tJust Preach follows survivors of tragedy as they tell their stories ofresilience and change-making activism.
“These three honorees have devoted themselves to liftingcommunities of women, protecting our youngest and most vulnerable and have effectivelyutilized the power of community organizing to promote change,” said Terri LeeFreeman, National Civil Rights Museum President. “They have drawn on theconcept of peaceful protest, recognizing the freedom fighters and warriors thathave gone before them. We are excited toshare their stories and recognize their achievements.”
The Freedom Award host is Lamman Rucker, an actor, educator,activist and entrepreneur whose career platform has been used to influence,educate and ignite communities through artistic and academic innovation.
This year’s Freedom Award will pay tribute to the Green Book, orthe Negro Travelers’ Green Book, that identified safe accommodations andservices for African Americans traveling during the segregated Jim Crow Era. Itwas a resource that listed the Lorraine Motel, the current site of the museum.
Over the past 27 years, the National Civil Rights Museum haspresented The Freedom Award to many of the most lauded civil and human rightsleaders and history makers including Coretta Scott King, President NelsonMandela, The Dalai Lama, President Bill Clinton, President Jimmy Carter,President Mikhail Gorbachev, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Rosa Parks, Bono,Secretary of State Colin Powell, President Lech Walesa, President Oscar Arias,President Mary Robinson, Paul Rusesabagina, President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, PrimeMinister Yitzhak Rabin, Tom Brokaw, Frank Robinson, Earvin “Magic” Johnson, BernardLafayette, Marlo Thomas, Hill Harper, Marva Collins, Usher Raymond, Bill Frist,Dolores Huerta, Rev. James Lawson, Cicely Tyson, Rev. Samuel “Billy” Kyles,Kirk Whalum, Southern Poverty Law Center, Susan Taylor, Rev. C.T. Vivian, JohnSeigenthaler, the NAACP, Alonzo Mourning, Danny Glover, Julius “Dr. J” Ervin,Eva Longoria Parker, Dr. Dorothy Cotton, Dr. Wangari Maathai, Vice President AlGore, Diane Nash, B.B. King, John Hope Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Rev. JosephLowery, Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis, Congressman John Lewis, Maxine Smith, Rev.Benjamin Hooks, Julian Bond, Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafonte, Andrew Young,Jackie Robinson, Frank Robinson, Elie Wiesel, Oprah Winfrey, MyrlieEvers-Williams, Geoffrey Canada, Joan Trumpauer Mulholland, Ruby Bridges-Hall, AvaDuVernay, Swin Cash, Benjamin Crump, Tawakkol Karman, Soledad O’Brian, TheHonorable Damon Keith, Bryan Stevenson, WilliamF. Winter, Rev. Bernice A. King, Hugh Masekela, Morris Dees, Vice President JoeBiden, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr., and Pitt Hyde.
TheFreedom Award presenting sponsors are International Paper, FedEx Corporation, HydeFamily Foundations, Ford Motor Company and First Tennessee Foundation.
FreedomAward activities on Wednesday, October 30, 2019 include the following:
- 10:00 a.m. – Student Forum – Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church
- 5:00 p.m. Pre-Show Gala – Halloran Centre for the Performing Arts and Education
- 7:30 p.m. Award Ceremony – Orpheum Theatre
The Freedom Award ceremony and Pre-Show Gala are ticketed events. Sponsorship levels range from $3,000 to $35,000. Individual tickets are $200, $300 and $450. Tickets and sponsorships are available at freedomaward.org.
The Student Forum is a free student and educator forum during which the Keeper of the Dream Award is presented. Nominations for this student award are open until September 20. See the website for info.