Yemen’s human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Tawakkol Karman, along with the journalist and executive producer Soledad O'Brien, WNBA champion and activist Swin Cash, civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, the judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Court The Honorable Damon Jerome Keith and attorney and social justice activist Bryan Stevenson, has been named among this year’s Freedom Award Honorees.
The Memphis-based National Civil Rights Museum will present the Freedom Awards on Oct. 20 at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts, followed by the Gala Celebration at the Memphis Cook Convention Center.
Since 1991, the Freedom Award has been given to outstanding individuals who have made great global and national impact and as recognition of these men and women’s significant contributions to civil and human rights.
The museum, whose exhibits trace the history of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States from the 17th century to the present, is located around the former Lorraine Motel, where Martin Luther King was assassinated on April 4, 1968.
The National Civil Rights Museum, which was closed in November 2012 for a $27.5 million renovation and reopened in 2014, has honored many prominent figures around the world, including Nelson Mandela, Carter, Bill Clinton, Gorbachev, Kouchner, the Dalai Lama and Muhammad Yunus.