The National Civil Rights Museum will honor two leaders in civil and human rights with the Freedom Award 2002, Wednesday.
Julian Bond, Chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and Rigoberta Menchú-Tum, a Guatemalan human rights activist, were chosen because they have laid the foundation for present and future leaders in the battle for human rights.
The museum has invited Memphis-area students to attend the morning ceremony.
“We invite them every year,” said Rhonda Turner, manager of public relations and marketing for the museum. “They get to see individuals whom they’ve only read about.”
Former recipients of the award include Nelson Mandela, Colin Powell, Jimmy Carter and Rosa Parks.
Bond is a professor at American University in Washington, D.C., and a history professor at the University of Virginia.
He has been a leader of social change since 1960 and a founder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Bond was active in civil rights protests throughout the South.
He was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1965, but was prevented from taking his seat because he opposed the Vietnam War. He was eventually seated after a third election and a unanimous decision of the United States Supreme Court.
While in the Georgia Senate, he was sponsor or co-sponsor of more than 60 bills which became law.
He has received 21 honorary degrees and has narrated many documentaries, including the Academy Award winning, “A Time for Justice.”
Menchú-Tum received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992.
She is a leading advocate of Indian rights and ethno-cultural reconciliation in the Western Hemisphere.
She has dedicated her life to social reform and was forced to flee Guatemala in 1981 because of her involvement in many protests.
She has earned several international awards for her work.
“They are living legends,” Turner said of the award recipients.
The Freedom Award Public Forum - the morning ceremony - will take place at 10 a.m. at the National Civil Rights Museum. Transportation will be provided for the students and the public can attend with free tickets.
Another ceremony, The Freedom Award Banquet, will be at 7 p.m. at the Peabody Hotel. Tickets must be purchased to attend the evening event.
If any students are interested in attending the morning event, The Daily Helmsman has 100 free tickets that can be picked up in the Meeman Journalism Building, room 210.
