For Immediate Release
Thursday, April 29, 2004
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights to Honor Gerald McEntee
WASHINGTON, DC —A tireless advocate for the rights of American workers, Gerald McEntee, International President of the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME), has committed decades to the crusade for living wages, secure health care and expanded career opportunities for public employees. McEntee has been named one of the recipients of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR) 2004 Hubert H. Humphrey Civil Rights Award.
“Gerald McEntee has made extraordinary contributions to the advancement of civil rights,” said LCCR Executive Director Wade Henderson in announcing this year’s awardees. “He has helped our nation make great and lasting strides on our journey toward equality. It is particularly fitting that he receives the Humphrey Award, which is the civil rights community’s highest honor.”
McEntee’s success is rooted in his commitment to coalition-building, a hallmark of the civil rights community’s history and success. His ability to unite the labor community has protected the rights and enriched the lives of individual workers and their families. As treasurer of the LCCR, he helped bring together individuals and organizations from every sector of society in support of civil rights. A veteran labor organizer and seasoned strategist, McEntee has often been called the consummate coalition builder. “The civil rights coalition is fortunate to have Gerald McEntee as a steadfast champion of worker rights and articulate spokesman for our common mission,” Henderson said.
This year’s award dinner comes at a significant time as the LCCR celebrates the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education which led to the desegregation of the nation’s public schools, and the 40th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act. The Leadership Conference provides a powerful unified voice for the various constituencies of the civil and human rights coalition in the United States: persons of color, women, children, individuals with disabilities, gays and lesbians, older Americans, labor unions, major religious groups and civil liberties and human rights groups. Today, more than 50 million persons belong to the 180 organizations that form LCCR.
Other Hubert Humphrey awardees include Tom Joyner, Host of ABC Radio’s nationally syndicated “The Tom Joyner Morning Show,” and Connie Morella, U.S. Permanent Representative to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Dr. Irwin Jacobs, co-founder and chairman of Qualcomm, Inc., will receive the 2004 Dr. Dorothy I. Height Chair’s Award.
Named in honor of the U.S. Vice President, Senator, and civil rights stalwart, the Hubert Humphrey Award is the civil rights community’s highest accolade. For ticket information visit LCCR’s website: http://www.civilrights.org/ or by calling the LCCR at 202.466.3311.
