More than 1,000 attendees from a wide range of community sectors joined Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR) Chairperson Dr. Dorothy Height and LCCR Executive Director Wade Henderson in saluting three extraordinary champions of social justice at LCCR's Hubert H. Humphrey Civil Rights Award Dinner: Activist and Actor Danny Glover; Executive Director of the Human Rights Campaign Elizabeth Birch; and Director of the Religious Action Center Rabbi David Saperstein. Award presentations were made by Bill Fletcher of TransAfrica, Dr. Height, and Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y.
Acclaimed human rights and civil rights activist and actor; Good Will Ambassador to the United Nations Development Program; as Board Chair of TransAfrica Forum, Mr. Glover has been an outspoken advocate for human rights; his tireless efforts have brought awareness to the plight of the under-represented and disenfranchised on national and international fronts, and offered hope to victims of injustice through a strong and steadfast message of civil rights advocacy.
As Executive Director of the Human Rights Campaign, Ms. Birch has been a leading advocate for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans; her legal counsel and leadership skills on an array of civil rights issues have called our society to community change, justice in the workplace, equal opportunity and mutual respect; she is renowned throughout the civil rights community for her insights on the integral roles of advocacy, education and organizational unity in forming national policy to advance civil rights.
Representative of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations; Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism; in appointing him the first Chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, the United States Congress affirmed Rabbi Saperstein's key role as a respected leader on issues of religious freedom and social justice; he is known throughout the civil rights community and society at large for his non-stop advocacy efforts and his dedication to coalition building to further the cause of equal justice and equal opportunity.
AOL TimeWarner, represented by vice-president Gerri-Warren Merrick and Prudential Financial, represented by vice-president Linda Flores, were the co-chairs and leading sponsors of the dinner, which is LCCR's principal fundraiser. Corporate Relations Director Fred Fernandez represented UPS, a leading underwriter of the event. A dinner committee representing corporate, community and coalition member support was chaired by John Relman of Relman & Associates.
In his remarks, Wade Henderson marveled at the diversity represented among the dinner attendees, noting that it is reflective of the sweep and scope of the Leadership Conference agenda.
Henderson stated: "Since September 11, the Leadership Conference has redoubled its efforts to defend the American ideals of equal justice, equal opportunity and mutual respect."
The HHH Civil Rights Award Dinner capped an important week for the LCCR coalition, which also convened its National Board Meeting on May 7. In addition to special policy presentations on judicial nominations, civil rights enforcement, Social Security reform, and communications/information technology, LCCR's National Board Meeting featured a keynote speech by Senator James Jeffords, I-Vt., who spoke on education reform.
The vast majority of the problems facing our public education system today can be traced to the federal government's failure to provide adequate resources, Sen. Jeffords, I-Vt., argued in his address to the LCCR board.
To counter this trend, Sen. Jeffords announced a new initiative, "Ten in Ten," summoning Congress to increase education spending to 10 percent of the federal government's budget, the same rate of funding as it received in the 1940's. Under this proposal, increases would be phased in at 1 percent every year for 10 years. Spending on elementary, secondary, and post secondary now comprises only 2.6 percent of the federal government's budget.
Sen. Jeffords, the keynote speaker at a meeting that also featured presentations by LCCR members National Women's Law Center, People for the American Way, National Council of La Raza, National Partnership for Women and Families, and AARP, was introduced by Hugh Price, LCCR Executive Committee member and President and CEO of the National Urban League. The National Urban League is the nation's oldest and largest community-based movement devoted to empowering African Americans to enter the economic and social mainstream.
Educational equity is one of Sen. Jeffords's signature issues. Last May, when he announced his departure from the Republican Party, forcing the Republicans to relinquish Senate leadership, Sen. Jeffords cited, among other reasons for his decision, his disapproval of the Bush Administration's refusal to fully fund its own education reform recommendations.
In addition to education, Sen. Jeffords has shown commitment to many other areas of civil rights. In the area of welfare and labor issues, he has supported a greater increase of funding for child care to help welfare recipients return to work and a minimum wage increase to help decrease poverty in the United States. Sen. Jeffords has also worked to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) and has remained committed to improving the quality of life for our senior citizens.
Wade Henderson, Executive Director of LCCR, thanked Sen. Jeffords for standing on principle in the face of political opposition, and for putting his own career and popularity at risk for the future of our country.
The National Board Meeting, which presents a special forum for LCCR member organizations to discuss emerging civil and human rights policy issues and review LCCR's operations, also featured special policy presentations on judicial nominations, civil rights enforcement, Social Security reform, and communications/information technology.
