Civilrights.org

This year, we look to two remarkable individuals who are helping us answer today’s unique challenges to civil and human rights protections. Sheila Bair has shown us that our financial institutions on Wall Street will be at their strongest when they best represent the borrower on Main Street, and Van Jones is addressing environmental injustices and social injustices with one visionary solution: creating green pathways out of poverty.

Sheila C. Bair  Ms. Bair is the chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which plays a pivotal role in insuring and supervising the nation’s financial institutions. With today’s financial crisis affecting everyone from individual homeowners to some of the largest banks in the country, Chairman Bair and her agency have moved to the forefront of the government’s response. Standing at the vanguard, Chairman Bair was one of the first people to take notice and speak against an alarming trend in aggressive lending practices, warning of the need for more regulation to protect consumers. More about Sheila Bair

Van Jones  Mr. Jones is a civil rights and environmental justice advocate working to combine solutions to social inequality and environmental injustices. He was recently selected to serve as special advisor for green jobs, enterprise and innovation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. He is the founder of Green For All, a national organization dedicated to building an inclusive green economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty. Green For All grew out of a "Green Job Corps" program at the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, which he co-founded. More about Van Jones

Hubert Humphrey’s deep commitment and dedication to social justice are legendary. He devoted his life to public service in the cause of equality.

Elected mayor of Minneapolis in 1945, he quickly ascended to the national political scene. Addressing racial discrimination and anti-Semitism in Minneapolis, he was responsible for the city enacting the nation’s first municipal fair employment legislation in 1948. That same year, amid fierce debate on the direction of civil rights, he delivered a fiery speech at the Democratic National Convention and spurred the Democratic Party to add a civil rights plank to their platform.

From 1948-1964, he served from Minnesota as one of the nation’s most distinguished U.S. senators and was pivotal in the enactment of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, calling its passage "one of the landmarks of my life." Elected vice president of the United States in 1964, Hubert Humphrey continued his selfless advocacy for equality in a free, plural and democratic society.

As a testament to his exemplary leadership on civil rights, the Hubert H. Humphrey Civil Rights Award was established by LCCR in 1977.

More about Hubert H. Humphrey

Honorary Chair

Dr. Dorothy I. Height
Chairperson, LCCR
Chair & President Emerita
National Council of Negro Women

Dinner Co-Chairs

Kathryn C. Brown
Verizon

Fred Humphries
Microsoft

Program Benefactor

Ken Sternad
UPS

Dinner Committee

Chair
Ricardo Byrd
National Association of Neighborhoods

Arlene Holt Baker
AFL-CIO

Thomas Chabolla
SEIU

Kimberly Freeman
American Rights at Work

Emilio Gonzalez
Verizon

Kerrick Henny
AT&T

Julie Kitka
Alaska Federation of Natives

Ed Martinez
UPS

Gerald McEntee
AFSCME

Nancy McFadden
PG&E

Karen Narasaki
Asian American Justice Center

Barry Rand
AARP

John Relman
Relman and Dane

Faith Schwartz
Hope Now

Hilary Shelton
NAACP Washington Bureau

Frank Torres
Microsoft

Joyce Tucker
The Boeing Company

Randi Weingarten
American Federation of Teachers

Wayne Winborne
Prudential Financial

Chairperson
Dr. Dorothy I. Height
National Council of Negro Women

Vice Chairpersons
Judith L. Lichtman
National Partnership for Women & Families

Karen K. Narasaki
Asian American Justice Center

William L. Taylor
Citizens’ Commission on Civil Rights

Secretary
William D. Novelli
AARP

Treasurer
Gerald W. McEntee
AFSCME

Executive Committee

Barbara Arnwine
Lawyers’ Committee For Civil Rights Under Law

Arlene Holt Baker
AFL-CIO

Caroline Fredrickson
American Civil Liberties Union

Kim Gandy
National Organization for Women

Ron Gettelfinger
International Union, UAW

Marcia D. Greenberger
National Women’s Law Center

Linda D. Hallman
American Association of University Women

Andrew J. Imparato
American Association of People with Disabilities

Benjamin T. Jealous
NAACP

Jacqueline Johnson
National Congress of American Indians

Kathryn Kolbert
People for the American Way

S. Floyd Mori
Japanese American Citizens League

Marc H. Morial
National Urban League

Janet Murguia
National Council of La Raza

Debra L. Ness
National Partnership for Women & Families

Mary Rose Oakar
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee

John Payton
NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc.

Barry Rand
AARP

Dennis Van Roekel
National Education Association

David Saperstein
Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism

Shanna L. Smith
National Fair Housing Alliance

Joe Solmonese
Human Rights Campaign

Andrew L. Stern
Service Employees International Union

John Trasvina
Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund

Randi Weingarten
American Federation of Teachers

Mary G. Wilson
League of Women Voters of the United States

Compliance/Enforcement Committee Chairperson

Karen K. Narasaki
Asian American Justice Center

President & CEO
Wade J. Henderson

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