The Fannie Lou Hamer National Institute on Citizenship and Democracy will recognize six outstanding individuals at our 4th Fannie Lou Hamer Humanitarian Awards Luncheon to be held Friday,
April 16, 2010. The honorees will receive the Fannie Lou Hamer Humanitarian Award in an 11:30 a.m. ceremony to be held in the General Purpose Room of the Jacob L. Reddix Building on the campus of Jackson State University.
To be honored are Reverend Horace L. Buckley of Jackson, who has given more than four decades of extraordinary and dedicated leadership to Cade Chapel Missionary Baptist Church and the local community. Reverend Dr. Horace L. Buckley has served four terms in the Mississippi legislature where he was known as a strong advocate for the poor and dispossessed. He has a strong record of community involvement and has been in the forefront of helping to restore the neighborhood where his church is located.
The Hamer Institute will also honor Charles McLaurin, a native of Jackson and one of the early members of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).
He was a close friend and campaign manager for the late Fannie Lou Hamer. McLaurin worked throughout the Mississippi Delta for the last forty years helping to alleviate poverty and suffering in that region of our state. He is known as the best living source on how Mrs. Hamer transformed politics in the small town of Ruleville Mississippi.
Bill Minor, a World War II combat veteran, and for more than 30 years, the capital reporter for the New Orleans Times-Picayune. Bill Minor’s hardhitting newspaper reporting and columns helped to explain Mississippi policy to several generations of Mississippi citizens and others. He is known widely as the one reporter who describes the politics of Mississippi in a manner that antagonized a lot of the statewide leadership. Bill Minor edited and published his own hard-hitting, investigative, weekly newspaper, The Capital Reporter. Dorothy Stewart, a former public school teacher, wife, mother, and community activist, is widely known throughout the state for her work in highlighting the causes of women.
The founding president of Women for Progress of Mississippi, Dorothy’s vision and leadership has made this organization a major agent of change in the state of Mississippi. Dorothy Stewart is widely known for the innovative ways she has partnered with other organizations throughout the state in order to bring a relief and comfort to all people.
The Hamer Institute honors posthumously the life, works, and contributions of Jimmie Travis. The Late Jimmie Travis, a long time civil rights activist, was involved in the civil rights movement at an early age. Jimmie was known as one of the original “internal” Freedom Riders and in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), he was known as a quiet, effective and brilliant organizer and thinker.
Jimmy passed on July 28, 2009 and upon his death, he was the chair of the Veterans of Mississippi Civil Rights Movement where his quiet and effective leadership gave new life to a group of civil rights icons. Dorothy Triplett, a Mississippi community servant for more than 30 years has worked in the non-profit arena, state and local government, politics and community affairs throughout the state of Mississippi. Dorothy is widely appreciated for her political smarts and profound ability to bring diverse people together.
She has worked very closely with CONTACT, The Crisis Line, where she has served as a counselor and support for people experiencing crisis and conflict. Her diverse background of leadership has helped to create progressive local and statewide networks.
The Hamer Institute is proud to honor this humanitarian who has established a legacy of caring leadership for many decades.
The Hamer Institute is honored to be able to recognize these special persons in our state. Collectively and individually, they have helped to change the course of human history and have been instrumental in modeling a civil society.
Come let us recognize our fellow citizens, Friday, April 16, 2010 on the campus of Jackson State University.
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