Emory University to Award Seven James Weldon Johnson Medals

On November 8, Emory University will award seven individuals with its 2010 James Weldon Johnson Medals. The medals are awarded to individuals whose “achievements in civil rights, law, and humanitarian service reflect a deep and unwavering commitment to civil and human rights.” The awards honor James Weldon Johnson (1871-1938), the legendary African-American writer, journalist, educator, diplomat, poet, composer, and civil rights leader.

This year’s honorees are:

• Lucy Cline Huie, co-founder of project HOPE, which worked to desegregate Georgia’s schools in the 1940s and 1950s;

• Deborah E. Lipstadt, Dorot Professor of Modern Jewish and Holocaust Studies at Emory University;

• Joseph E. Lowery, former president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference;

• Robert P. Moses, founder of The Algebra Project and former field leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee;

• Leah Ward Sears, a lawyer who served from 2005-09 as chief justice of the Georgia Supreme Court;

• The late Sondra K. Wilson, founder of the James Weldon Johnson Memorial Foundation; and

• Andrew J. Young, former mayor of Atlanta and former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

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