National Civil Rights Museum
Joe Biden, Jesse Jackson, Pitt Hyde honored with with Freedom Awards.
Former Vice President Joe Biden, civil rights icon the Rev. Jesse Jackson and entrepreneur and philanthropist Pitt Hyde are the honorees for the 2018 National Civil Rights Museum’s Freedom Awards.
The recipients were announced Wednesday by Terri Lee Freeman, NCRM president.
During the 27th awards ceremony, there will be a tribute to Aretha Franklin, who was born in Memphis, moved to Detroit as a child and died on Aug. 16 at 76. The tribute will recognize her role in the civil rights and the women’s rights movements. The ceremony is Oct. 17. As this year the museum remembered the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination in Memphis, 1968 was also an important year for each of the honorees, Freeman said.
“Joe Biden was a law clerk in 1968 when Robert Kennedy was assassinated. He actually identified Kennedy as his personal hero,” she said.
Hyde, who serves on the NCRM board, began his philanthropic career in 1968.
“Obviously, Jesse Jackson was here at the Lorraine (Motel) when Dr. King was shot. From that point he’s been a lot of different things, but he’s always been in the mix,” Freeman said.
The museum is built on the site of the Lorraine Motel.
Also, the political unrest and protests that have characterized 2018 feels very similar to the turmoil of 1968, Freeman said.
“It’s really interesting when you compare the years. And you ask yourself what lessons did we learn,” she said.
With Freedom Awards already presented to others from the civil rights era, Freeman doesn’t know why Jackson wasn’t among them.
The honorees, recognized for both their contributions to human and civil rights, are chosen by board members from a list of names that is regularly updated.
The final selection comes from the five people who “rise to the top” and their availability, Freeman said.
Freedom Award events include the Student Forum at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church, where local youth will be presented with Keepers of the Dream awards for their acts of compassion, leadership, courage and service.
That night, the ceremony at the Orpheum Theatre will be hosted by writer and activist Michaela Angela Davis.
The 2017 honorees were: the Rev. Bernice King, an activist and the youngest daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; Morris Dees, co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center; and South African musician and activist Hugh Masekela.
Past winners include Nelson Mandela, Stevie Wonder, Bono, Marlo Thomas, Bill Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, Colin Powell and the Dali Lama.