Sheila Bair and Van Jones to Receive LCCR’s Hubert H. Humphrey Civil Rights Award

Today, LCCR announced that Sheila Bair and Van Jones will be honored at the organization’s annual Hubert H. Humphrey Civil Rights Award Dinner, to be held on May 7, in Washington, D.C.

“As the Leadership Conference continues to press for inclusion in protecting civil and human rights, we recognize this year two remarkable individuals for their dedication to public service in the cause of equality,” said LCCR President Wade Henderson. “This year’s honorees epitomize the dedication to liberty, justice, and equality under the law that characterized the life of Hubert H. Humphrey, the former vice president, senator, and civil rights pioneer.”  

As chairman of the FDIC, Bair has taken a lead role in addressing the current foreclosure crisis and helping to keep millions of Americans in their homes.  She was one of the first people to speak against an alarming increase in aggressive lending practices that led to many homeowners being placed in mortgages they couldn’t afford, and advocated for more regulation to protect consumers.  Bair has also been active in pushing mortgage companies to perform mass loan modifications to help borrowers avoid foreclosure.

Jones, president and founder of Green For All, is at the forefront of green economy movement, which seeks to fight poverty and pollution at the same time by encouraging investment in jobs that promote a clean environment – putting millions of low-income and minority people to work and revitalizing low-income communities around the nation.  He is also a fierce critic of policies that lead to overly high rates of incarceration for low-income and minority people, and  in his work as co-founder of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, he helped to decrease California’s youth prison population by 30 percent.