The Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Awards
On September 21, 1976, agents of Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet detonated a car bomb that killed IPS colleagues Orlando Letelier, a former Chilean diplomat and director of the Institute's Transnational Institute, and Ronni Karpen Moffitt, an IPS development associate, in Washington, DC. Each year in October, the Institute for Policy Studies hosts the annual human rights award in the names of Letelier and Moffitt to honor these fallen colleagues while celebrating new heroes of the human rights movement from the United States and the Americas.
34th Annual Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Awards
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
National Press Club Ballroom, 13th Floor
529 14th Street NW, Washington, DC
5:30 pm: Reception and Light Fare
7:00 pm: Human Rights Ceremony
Special Appearance by:
Sweet Honey In The Rock
Tickets Available Soon!
You are also invited to
The Annual Sheridan Circle Memorial Service
September 19, 2010
23rd Street & Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC
About the Recipients
Domestic Awardee: National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON)
Day laborers, who are mostly immigrants, have long struggled to earn a decent wage. They have endured racism, stolen wages, and unacceptable working conditions. These workers now have an organization on their side: the National Day Laborer Organizing Network. NDLON gives voice to the thousands of construction workers, landscapers, fruit pickers, and others who keep America functioning every day. Now in partnership with the AFL-CIO, the Network has joined hands with U.S. workers everywhere to have a powerful voice on labor and immigration issues. NDLON is fighting the rising tide of right-wing attacks against immigrant communities and ensuring basic human dignity for all workers, wherever they work and whatever their country of origin.
International Awardee: Honduras Human Rights Platform
The Human Rights Platform is a coalition of six organizations — CDM, CIPRODEH, CODEH, COFADEH, CPTRT, FIAN, — that works tirelessly to document and stop the systematic violation of human rights that have escalated since the June 2009 coup d'état. The Platform also pushed for the establishment of a people's Truth Commission to investigate human rights violations that have occurred since the coup. Along with their work as human rights defenders, the member organizations help survivors of torture; fight against impunity in the criminal justice system; champion women's rights; ensure people's access to food; and disseminate human rights information nationally and internationally to promote a culture that respects the dignity of the individual and prevents the abuse of basic human rights. The Platform is part of a vibrant social movement in Honduras that is advocating for a more just and democratic society, and holding the government accountable to its citizens.
Special Recognition: Guatemalan Police Archives
The Guatemalan Police Archives preserves the records of the crimes committed by the Guatemalan government during the 36-year-long civil war, which left more than 200,000 people, mostly unarmed civilians, dead or disappeared. This dedicated band of human rights activists are cleaning, organizing, and digitizing the towers of decomposing papers that were discovered accidentally in a forgotten corner of a police station in 2005. The files tell story after story of assassination, kidnapping, and torture, all committed by the national police. These archivists are keeping alive not only the memories of the victims but also the history of those who courageously opposed the repressive government.
A special appearance by Sweet Honey In The Rock
As the musical highlight of the evening, Sweet Honey In The Rock needs no introduction. Their combination of beautiful music and commitment to the struggle for justice has electrified audiences around the world. Founded in 1973 by Bernice Johnson Reagon, a former IPS staff member, the a cappella ensemble of African-American women presents a rich diversity of music, from blues to hip hop to traditional gospel. A 2008 Grammy Award nominee for their album Experience . . . 101, Sweet Honey in the Rock has long raised their voices in hope, love, justice, peace, and resistance.
Selection Committee
- Sarah Anderson, Institute for Policy Studies
- Fred Azcarate, AFL-CIO
- Marie Dennis, Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
- Joe Eldridge, Chaplain, American University
- Jill Gay, Activist
- Adam Isacson, Center for International Policy
- Peter Kornbluh, National Security Archive
- Isabel Morel de Letelier
- E. Ethelbert Miller, Howard University
- Joy Olson, Washington Office on Latin America
- Barbara Shailor, AFL-CIO
- Sanho Tree, Institute for Policy Studies
