2011 Hubert H. Humphrey Civil and Human Rights Awards to Honor Richard Trumka, Shirley Sherrod, and Joe Solmonese
Washington, D.C. – The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights announced today that it will honor AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka , lifelong social justice activist Shirley Sherrod, and Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese, with the civil and human rights movement’s highest honor, The Hubert H. Humphrey Civil and Human Rights Award. The recipients will be honored at the 35th annual Hubert H. Humphrey Civil and Human Rights Award Dinner, the nation’s largest gathering of the civil and human rights community, on May 12, 2011.
“As our current political climate is steeped in wedge politics and efforts to divide our nation rather than celebrate our rich diversity, all of us who cherish equality and equal opportunity have been energized by three strong voices of inclusion, three remarkable champions of social justice,” said Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference.
“Unafraid to challenge racism and classism anywhere, Richard Trumka participated in the Free South Africa Movement protests, and his leadership of the AFL-CIO and its 12 million members has energized the fight for a more just and equal society. Shirley Sherrod’s public advocacy has inspired us all with her lifelong pursuit of racial equality and social justice. And Joe Solmonese has been an indispensable voice in the fight for LGBT equality, providing leadership that helped pass the first federal laws to recognize the very identity of gay and lesbian individuals.”
“In the spirit of our award’s namesake, our honorees have answered Senator Humphrey’s exhortation to embrace civil rights and to ‘walk forthrightly into the bright sunshine of human rights.’ ”
The Leadership Conference’s 35th annual dinner will bring together a Who’s Who of the social justice community – national civil and human rights leaders, members of Congress, executive branch officials, and business leaders. Past recipients of the Hubert H. Humphrey Civil and Human Rights Award include President Bill Clinton, FDIC Chairperson Sheila Bair, veterans and disability advocate Tammy Duckworth, historian John Hope Franklin, labor leader Dolores Huerta, civil rights icon Julian Bond, housing advocate Patricia Rouse, journalists Tom Joyner, Ellen Goodman, and Soledad O’Brien, as well as congressional leaders Ted Kennedy, John Conyers, Patrick Leahy, Barbara Jordan, John Lewis, and Connie Morella.
The awards dinner will be held at the Hilton Washington (1919 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C.). Ticket and sponsorship information are available at lcprd.actbot.co/dinner/2011/ or by calling (202) 263-2857.
About the 2011 Hubert H. Humphrey Civil and Human Rights Award Honorees:
Richard Trumka is the president of the AFL-CIO, America’s largest coalition of public and private sector labor unions, representing more than 12 million workers across the country. He also served for 15 years as the AFL-CIO’s secretary-treasurer. A coal miner from southwestern Pennsylvania, he worked his way up the ranks of the United Mineworkers, serving as their president for 14 years, during which time he advanced workers’ rights domestically and also established solidarity with South African mineworkers in their fight against apartheid. He has been a steadfast leader on issues ranging from health and safety to pay equity and economic justice. President Trumka’s organizing acumen has helped energize the American labor movement and counter efforts to weaken collective bargaining and workers’ rights at the state and national levels.
Shirley Sherrod is a nationally known activist working on issues of economic justice and racial disparity. Hailing from rural Georgia, her work for social justice and equality began early in her life. She became involved in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) during its heyday in the early 1960s. She has worked on behalf of African-American farmers, helping to build assets and wealth among a historically dispossessed group. Working with her husband Charles Sherrod, she formed New Communities, Inc., a model community land trust that eventually became the largest tract of African-American owned land in the United States. Her work in farmland preservation and asset building led her to work with the Federation of Southern Cooperatives and then to a position with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which she held until 2010. Ms. Sherrod remains committed to seeking justice for America’s historically marginalized farmers, and fighting against bigotry in all its forms.
Joe Solmonese is the president of the Human Rights Campaign, one of America’s largest organizations dedicated to fighting for the civil and human rights of gays, lesbians, bisexual, and transgender Americans. Mr. Solmonese has helped build the Human Rights Campaign into one of the nation’s most powerful progressive lobbying organizations, with a current membership of more than 750,000. A member of the executive committee of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, he is a consummate coalition builder, standing at the vanguard on a range of legislative victories including the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in 2009 and the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell in 2010. Mr. Solmonese has played a vital role in shifting public opinion to build the LGBT community’s presence in corporate, education, and faith-based environments across the nation.
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its 200-plus member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.
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