Memphis, Tennessee, Aug. 24, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The National Civil Rights Museum announced recipients of The Freedom Award, the museum’s signature event that honors outstanding individuals for their significant contributions to civil and human rights. This year’s honorees are civil rights attorney Morris Dees, Rev. Bernice A. King and South Africa’s Hugh Masekela.
The Freedom Award will be presented October 19, 2017 at the Orpheum Theatre. This year the ceremony will be preceded by the Pre-Show Gala at the Halloran Centre.
The theme for the 26th Freedom Award is “Where Do We Go from Here” in commemoration of MLK50 -- the 50th Anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination on April 4, 1968 at the Lorraine Motel.
“Since 1991, the Freedom Award has honored distinguished individuals who have made great global and national impact. These men and women are lauded for their work in the struggle for civil and human rights,” said Terri Lee Freeman, president of the National Civil Rights Museum. “Our honorees exemplify Dr. King’s mission and legacy of fighting for and protecting the rights of every man, woman and child regardless of their race or social economic status, but especially for the marginalized, subjugated and disenfranchised.”
Rev. Bernice A. King was born into the Movement of parents, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King. She was five when her father, one of the most prolific humanitarians and leader of the Civil Rights Movement, was assassinated. Like her father, she is known nationally and internationally as one of the most powerful, motivating and life-changing orators. She began her oratorical journey when she spoke in her mother’s stead at the United Nations at age 17. While serving as a law clerk in the Fulton County Juvenile Court System, she realized that many teens are double victims: first of society and secondly of an ineffective legal system based in retribution instead of rehabilitation. Through her work as Chief Executive Officer of the King Center, Bernice King has continued to educate youth about the Kingian Nonviolence principles modeled by her parents. Sponsored by FedEx Corporation.
Morris Dees is a civil rights lawyer who addresses cases of racial discrimination and combats the power of hate groups. In 1971, Dees worked with fellow attorney Joseph J. Levin, Jr. and civil rights activist Julian Bond to found the Southern Poverty Law Center. Based in Montgomery, the not-for-profit agency was formed to combat hate, intolerance and discrimination through education and litigation. Sponsored by International Paper.
Hugh Masekela is a composer, bandleader, trumpeter, flugelhornist, singer and radical activist against Apartheid. Hugh Masekela grew up in apartheid South Africa listening to the music of Clifford Brown and Louis Armstrong. Apartheid forced him into exile for 30 years for the political unrest surrounding the 1960 Sharpeville Massacre. He was an outspoken critic of the South African regime. Hugh Masekela has composed and recorded many songs including his 1968 number one hit "Grazing in the Grass," which won him a Grammy for "Best Contemporary Pop Performance - Instrumental.” Sponsored by Hyde Family Foundation.
Special tribute to The Memphis Sanitation Workers. Dr. King’s last act in Memphis was fighting for the rights of the sanitation workers. We are paying special tribute to the 1300 who protested amid an immovable administration in 1968, against unsafe conditions, unjust treatment and unfair wages. Dr. King supported them fully, declaring that “all labor has dignity.” These dignified men created an international rallying cry, “I Am A Man.”
Writer, commentator and activist, Michaela Angela Davis, is host of the Award Ceremony.
Over the past 25 years, the National Civil Rights has presented The Freedom Award to many of the most lauded civil and human rights leaders and history makers including Coretta Scott King, President Nelson Mandela, 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, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Tom Brokaw, Frank Robinson, Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Bernard Lafayette, 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, John Seigenthaler, NAACP, Alonzo Mourning, Danny Glover, Julius “Dr. J” Ervin, Eva Longoria Parker, Dr. Dorothy Cotton, Dr. Wangari Maathai, Vice President Al Gore, Diane Nash, B.B. King, John Hope Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Rev. Joseph Lowery, 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, Myrlie Evers-Williams, Geoffrey Canada, Joan Trumpauer Mulholland, Ruby Bridges-Hall, Ava DuVernay, Swin Cash, Benjamin Crump, Tawakkol Karman, Soledad O’Brian, The Honorable Damon Keith, Bryan Stevenson and William F. Winter.
The Freedom Award premiere sponsors are International Paper, Hyde Family Foundations, FedEx Corporation, Ford Motor Company and First Tennessee.
Freedom Award activities on Thursday, October 19, 2017 include the following:
10:00 a.m. Student Forum Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church
5:00 p.m. Red Carpet Halloran Centre for the Performing Arts and Education
5:30 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 are $3,000, $4,500, $6,500, $10,000, $15,000, $25,000 and $35,000. Individual tickets are $200, $300 and $450. Tickets and sponsorships are available at civilrightsmuseum.org.
The Student Forum is a free student and educator forum.
Attachments:
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4800a059-7080-4b74-9c8f-f07984f5b70b