On Wednesday evening The National Civil Rights Museum held their annual Freedom Award Banquet at the Peabody Hotel Grand Ballroom. This year’s theme was entitled “From Legend to Legacy.”
The Freedom Award is the largest fundraiser for the museum and has been in existence since 1991. Normally, two awards are given each year, however in 1993 and in 2000, only one award was given. In 1991, three individuals were given awards.
The banquet was co-chaired by Memphis Grizzlies player, Shane Battier, and Gayle Rose of the Rose Family Foundation.
The Freedom Award honors individuals who have made significant contributions in civil rights and who have laid the foundation for present and future leaders in the battle for human rights.
An International Freedom Award is given to an individual whose work has had global impact or has impacted the state of human and civil rights abroad.
A National Freedom Award is presented to someone who has influenced the state of civil and human rights within the United States.
Julian Bond, Chairman of the National Association of Colored People (NAACP), received the 2002 National Freedom Award. Guatemalan Indian Rigoberta Menchu, rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize recipient, received the International Freedom Award.
Menchu received her award in her native Guatemalan dress and addressed the audience in both English and Spanish.
“Let us work together, we are brothers and sisters and we will do lots together in the future,” Menchu said.
Menchu believes that the work of the Civil Rights Museum and the Freedom Award agenda is important.
“It is important for youth to know that it is not a struggle of the past, but a way of the future and may they be proud of their past,” Menchu said.
Chairman of the National Civil Rights Museum Board, Dr. Benjamin L. Hooks introduced Julian Bond.
Bond said “I want to accept this award for the anonymous people, people with tired feet who marched, who made the movement possible.”
Bond later challenged the crowd by saying, “Ordinary people can create extraordinary change.”
Mayor Willie Herenton said he attended the event because, “I always look forward to the National Civil Rights Museum honoring well-deserving individuals who have demonstrated a dedication and commitment to human and civil rights.”
Many volunteers from the museum seated and directed those who attended the banquet.
“I volunteer because I feel that since Dr. King struggled so we could vote, I am indebted because of that,” Angela Golliday, a volunteer at the event said. “I volunteer to let him know we appreciate the labor he did for Americans and the African American community.
The International Paper Company and the Hyde Family Foundation sponsor the Freedom Award.
