Feature Story from civilrights.org
Tyler Lewis
February 22, 2008
Today, the nation's oldest and largest civil rights coalition announced its honorees for the 2008 Hubert H. Humphrey Civil Rights Award, the civil rights community's highest honor.
Representative John Conyers, D. Mich., Enterprise Community Partners' co-founder Patricia Rouse, and Emmy award-winning journalist Soledad O'Brien will receive the honor at the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights' (LCCR) annual Hubert H. Humphrey Civil Rights Award Dinner on May 14.
"These three individuals epitomize the legacy of concern for liberty, justice, and equality under the law that characterized the life of Hubert H. Humphrey," said LCCR President and CEO Wade Henderson, in a press release announcing the honorees.
Henderson noted that this year is the 40th anniversary of the enactment of the Fair Housing Act of 1968 and that the three honorees were chosen, in part, for their commitment to fair housing.
"We have much further to go on the road to housing equality, and our honorees are among those who are leading the way," said Henderson.
LCCR's Civil Rights Award was named for former United States vice president, senator, and civil rights pioneer Hubert H. Humphrey, whose years of public service, leadership, and dedication to equal opportunity changed the face of America.
Past recipients of the Hubert H. Humphrey Civil Rights honor have included President Bill Clinton, veteran and disability advocate Tammy Duckworth, historian John Hope Franklin, labor leader Dolores Huerta, civil rights icon Julian Bond, journalists Tom Joyner and Ellen Goodman, as well as elected leaders Ted Kennedy, Barbara Jordan, John Lewis, and Connie Morella.
