By Jackie Torok
Nominations for the 2023 Human Rights Medal awarded by North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University are being accepted through Monday, Dec. 12.
The award is presented to an individual who has made substantial, long-term contributions in the furtherance of civil rights, civil liberties and human rights. A “substantial” contribution is considered one that demonstrates a level of dedication or achievement beyond that expected in the normal course of an individual’s work or one that significantly empowers marginalized individuals or a community.
The medal is awarded in honor of the extraordinary action against social injustice by the A&T Four – Ezell Blair Jr. (Jibreel Khazan), Franklin Eugene McCain, Joseph Alfred McNeil and David Richmond Jr. The four freshmen initiated a sit-in Feb. 1, 1960, at a whites-only lunch counter at Woolworth department store. The sit-in resulted in similar protests across the state as well as the country.
Past medal recipients include last year’s honoree N.C. Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls; the late civil rights leader and Congressman John Lewis; activists and community leaders theRev. Nelson and Joyce Johnson; and Congresswoman Alma Adams ’68 ’72.
Nominees for the Human Rights Medal must be U.S. citizens but are not limited to the university community. They may be recognized at the local, state, national or international levels, and will be evaluated according to the need they fulfill, the actions they demonstrate, and the scope of their contribution within the community.
The winner will be selected by the University Awards and Convocation Planning Committee, notified in December and invited to accept the award at the annual Sit-In Breakfast program, which is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. The recipient must be able to accept the award in person on campus and agree upon other predetermined stipulations.
