Willie L. Brown
NAACP
BALTIMORE (June 11, 2018) – The
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the
nation’s foremost civil rights organization, has announced that
the Honorable Willie L. Brown Jr., will be awarded the Spingarn Medal.
Brown will receive the honor during the NAACP 109th Annual Convention
taking place in San Antonio, Texas next month.
The NAACP Annual Convention will culminate with the presentation of the 103rd
NAACP Spingarn Medal on Wednesday, July 18, 2018. The award recognizes
Brown’s lifelong commitment to the community, equality and civil rights.
Brown, a native of Mineola, Texas, became the first African-American
speaker of the California State Assembly in 1980. He later served as
mayor of San Francisco from 1996 until 2004, overseeing several
development projects and mediating two public transit worker strikes.
After retiring from office, Brown continued to dedicate his time to
community service. In 2008, he established the Willie L. Brown, Jr.
Institute on Politics and Public Service, a nonpartisan non-profit
organization at San Francisco State University, dedicated to training
future municipal administrators.
“For
the past 103 years, we have honored leaders who have served as pillars
in the fight for justice. This year’s selection of the Honorable Willie
L. Brown, Jr. is no exception as he has been a true advocate in this
work for over fifty years.” said Derrick Johnson, NAACP President and
CEO.
The
NAACP Spingarn award was established in 1914 by the late Joel E.
Spingarn then Chairman of the NAACP Board of Directors. It was given
annually until his death in 1939. The medal is awarded “for the highest
or noblest achievement by a living African American during the
preceding year or years. A fund to continue the award was set up by his
will, thus, the NAACP has continued to present this award. Previous
recipients of this award include: Mrs. Daisy Bates (Little Rock Nine),
Jesse L. Jackson, Myrlie Evers-Williams, Earl G. Graves Sr., Oprah
Winfrey, Cicely Tyson, Harry Belafonte, Sidney Poitier and the Honorable Nathaniel Jones. Tickets to the Spingarn Dinner can be purchased on the NAACP Convention website here.
No comments:
Post a Comment