The Evansville-Vanderburgh County Human Relations Commission will hold its Annual Dinner on Friday, September 6, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. at the Centre, and will feature keynote speaker, Constance L. Rice.
Connie Rice is a civil rights lawyer who engineers systemic fixes to entrenched inequality and injustice. California Law Business Journal twice designated her one of the top ten most influential attorneys in California. She graduated from Harvard-Radcliffe colleges in 1978, achieved her black belt in Tae Kwon Do in 1981 and entered New York University School of Law on a Root Tilden Scholarship. In law school she worked extensively on capital punishment cases at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and after graduating from law school in 1984, she clerked for the Honorable Damon J. Keith at the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit for two years before winging it west to California where she joined the law firm of Morrison
& Foerster in San Francisco. She rejoined the NAACP Legal Defense Fund in 1989 as Western Regional Counsel, won several landmark cases and in the words of one magazine, established herself as “the voice of Los Angeles’ oppressed.†Together with Co-Directors Molly Munger, Penda Hair and Steve English, Connie launched The Advancement Project, a policy action and technology organization in 1998, and in the words of Los Angeles Magazine, “picked up where Clarence Darrow left off.â€
Mayor Lloyd Winnecke will reveal the Mayor’s Celebration of Diversity Awards at the dinner. The Mayor’s 2013 Celebration of Diversity Award recipients are as follows.
 Workforce Diversity Award – Ameriqual
Awarded to a business or organization that has been successful in achieving a diverse workforce.
Human Relations Commission Annual Dinner
September 6, 2013
 Development (Willie Effie Thomas Award) – USI Safe Zone Project
Awarded to an individual who has successfully implemented diversity education and communication in an organization, business or the community.
 Community Relations (Sue Woodson Award) – Harold Calloway
Lu Porter
Awarded to an individual, business or organization that has achieved exceptional success in developing diversity activities which encourage and support success in the area of community relations.
 Leadership Award -Evansville’s Celebration of Diversity Distinguished Lecture
Series
Awarded to a business or organization that has developed supportive diversity strategies throughout a business, organization or community.
 Sadelle Berger Award – Marvaline Prince
This top award honors the tireless work of a community advocate that promotes fairness, inclusion, and respect for all in the community, and has made a significant impact. This award goes to an individual, organization or business.
Additional Presentations:
The Evansville-Vanderburgh County Advisory Board on Disability Services will recognize John Hassebrock, Loft Manager of Sodexo and present the Employer of Distinction Award for his outstanding achievements in enhancing employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
The Evansville Commission on the Social Status of African American Males will also recognize Brad Hill for his contributions to the Evansville Commission on the Social Status of African American Males.
The Evansville-Vanderburgh County Human Relations Commission provides administrative support to the Advisory Board on Disability Services and the Evansville Commission on the Social Status of African American Males.
