Civil Rights Monitor
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The CIVIL RIGHTS MONITOR is a quarterly publication that reports on civil rights issues pending before the three branches of government. The Monitor also provides a historical context within which to assess current civil rights issues. Back issues of the Monitor are available through this site. Browse or search the archives Summer 2003
Leadership Conference Activities
LCCR Honors Hubert H. Humphrey Civil Rights Awardees More than one thousand members of the civil rights community gathered at the Washington Hilton in May to salute this year's Hubert H. Humphrey Civil Rights Award honorees.
The Humphrey Award is presented by the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR) to those whose "selfless and devoted service in the cause of equality" best exemplifies the spirit of Hubert H. Humphrey, Vice-President, Senator and outspoken civil rights pioneer.
This year's honorees were:
Representative John Lewis, D.Ga
Representative Lewis (serving Georgia's Fifth District) is a life-long champion of civil rights. An Alabama sharecropper's son, he helped organize the lunch counter sit-ins, the Freedom Rides, and the Selma-to-Montgomery voting rights march. As chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and executive director of the Voter Education Project, he maintained his faith in peaceful protest in spite of brutal beatings. An unwavering voice for equality and simple justice, John Lewis continues to serve the nation through his steadfast efforts to build "the beloved community."
Northwestern University
The Medill Innocence Project
The Center on Wrongful Convictions
The investigative efforts of Northwestern students and faculty led to the exoneration of several innocent parties and culminated in the commutation of 167 death sentences in Illinois, changing the way our nation views the death penalty. Laura Sullivan, a former student who played a key role in Professor David Protess's Medill Innocence Project, is currently with the D.C. bureau of the Baltimore Sun. She joined Professor Larry Marshall, founder and legal director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions, in accepting the award on behalf of Northwestern University.
Sesame Workshop
In giving generations of children a glimpse into a world that promotes equality, celebrates diversity, and encourages mutual respect, the nonprofit organization behind Sesame Street has mirrored the values and mission that are at the heart of LCCR. A respected leader in research on child development and education, as well as the producer of exemplary educational media, the Workshop was saluted by LCCR for teaching the young in years and the young at heart how to respect and celebrate our diversity. Sesame Workshop CEO Gary Knell was joined by Sesame Street's endearing "Rosita" in accepting the award.
"This year's honorees have made extraordinary contributions to the advancement of civil rights," said LCCR Executive Director Wade Henderson. "Each has helped our nation make great and lasting strides in our journey toward equality. It is particularly fitting that they receive the Humphrey Award, which is the civil rights community's highest honor.
Remarking on the breadth and diversity of the three honorees, Dinner Chair Dr. Dorothy Height, who is also Chair of the LCCR, noted "These outstanding champions of civil rights are vivid symbols of how the past has informed our current initiatives, how the present holds particular challenge to all who believe in civil rights, and how our future success will depend on new leaders to advance social justice."
The annual dinner, LCCR's principal fund-raiser, is noted for bringing together people from all walks of life - members of both houses of Congress, officials from the Executive Branch, business leaders, educators, attorneys, and young people representing the next generation of civil and human rights advocates.
Next year's awards celebration is scheduled for May 13, 2004.
  
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