The University of Memphis Hooks Institute for Social Change is slated to receive a donation from Memphis University School students in honor of long-time civil rights leader and former executive director of the NAACP Dr. Benjamin Hooks.
The ceremony, which will be held at the Memphis University School, begins at 9:30 a.m. Friday.
David Madlock, acting director for the institute, said no one is more deserving of the award than Hooks.
"He's an intelligent, warm, generous human being who's given his whole life for the cause of civil rights," Madlock said. "Dr. Hooks is a distinguished professor of political science and history. He teaches classes on a part-time basis."
According to Madlock, newly-elected president Shirley Raines will attend the ceremony.
Currently the HISC is seeking funding to make the institution an official organization on campus.
"We're in the process of forming an institute," Madlock said. "We sent the papers to the (Tennessee Board of Regents) to make it official."
Madlock said the institute is looking forward to receiving federal appropriation funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities and private donations to fund the archiving of the papers.
A collection of Hooks' works have been donated to the HISC.
Over 300 boxes of personal and professional documents are included in the collection.
Edwin Frank, U of M libraries special collection curator, said he is looking forward to having the special Hooks collection exhibited in the library.
The papers currently reside with the HISC.
According to Frank, the documents should arrive shortly.
"Soon we should start moving them to the special collections department," Frank said. "There's so much (material), it'll probably take weeks to move the papers."
Frank said the collection will add prominence to the library.
"Well it's a very important collection," Frank said. "It compliments and furthers some material we're already got in the way of African American civil rights (documents)."
According to Madlock, the institution has been in operation for five years and is very involved with the community both inside and outside The U of M.
During March 19-21, 900 sixth-graders will meet and talk to Hooks about the Civil Rights Movement. The program has received national attention including a spot on C-SPAN.
The Civil Rights Movement presentation in the schools, along with the archives project, are just a few programs directed by the HISC.
"We do various community projects," Madlock said. "We have a lot of activities that go on, and Dr. Hooks is the catalyst."
