Spotlight on 2012 Humphrey Honoree: Rep. Barney Frank

May 2, 2012 - Posted by Tyler Lewis

On May 16, the civil and human rights community will honor Rep. Barney Frank, D. Mass., with its highest honor: the Hubert H. Humphrey Civil and Human Rights Award.

A lifelong champion of civil and human rights issues ranging from immigration, gay rights, civil liberties, economic justice, and fair housing, Frank has represented Massachusetts' 4th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1980. He currently serves as ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee. As chairman of that committee from 2007-2011, he advanced the most important and badly-needed overhaul of consumer protection and financial regulatory law in decades. The new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau created by the law, in particular, is essential to helping all Americans – particularly those in communities of color – to rebuild and move forward after the devastation of the nation's housing crisis.

In his book Ripples of Hope: Great American Civil Rights Speeches – which publishes a speech Frank gave on the House floor in 1996 – Josh Gottheimer describes Frank as "one of the brightest and most energetic defenders of civil rights issues."

Prior to his election to Congress in 1980, Frank served in the Massachusetts legislature for eight years. He graduated from Harvard College in 1962 and received his J.D from Harvard Law School in 1977.

Visit our Hubert H. Humphrey Civil and Human Rights Award Dinner page for more information on tickets, sponsorship, and the honorees.