For Immediate Release: Friday, Sept. 19, 2014
Contact: Donna De La Cruz, [email protected] (202) 339-9331

(WASHINGTON)—Community Change honored four exemplary leaders in the fight for social justice at its 10^th annual Change Champion Awards last night. This year’s honorees are working to change the lives of low-income communities and people of color across the country.

This year’s Change Champion honorees were:

• Randi Weingarten, American Federation of Teachers — Champion in Labor Partnership
• All Of Us or None — Champion in Community Organizing
• Katrina vanden Heuvel and The Nation — Champion in Community Activism
• The Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund — Champion in Community Leadership

“Addressing issues of social justice is an issue of power and public will, not ideas,” said Deepak Bhargava, Executive Director of the Center for Community Change (CCC). “Hope comes not from politicians but from real people telling their stories to make change.”

Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers, accepted the award for Champion in Labor Partnership.

“Power does not yield willingly therefore we must work collectively like never before,” Weingarten said. “If we are going to have a just and fair society, we must work together to change society.”

The Champion in Community Organizing Award was accepted by Dorsey Nunn, Executive Director of Legal Services for Prisoners With Children (LSPC). All of Us or None is a project of LSPC and works to strengthen the voices of people most affected by mass incarceration through organizing and advocacy work. Nunn told the crowd of his own imprisonment at a young age.

“When I was in prison I was whipped but not beaten. I still have my spirit. I still have my dreams,” Nunn said. “My journey has taken me through the gates of San Quentin and through the front gates of the White House.”

The Champion in Community Activism Award was given to Katrina vanden Heuvel and The Nation. Vanden Heuvel serves as editor and publisher of The Nation, a publication with a nearly 150-year history of fostering dialogue, debate, reflection and action among progressives.

“If people don’t know, they won’t care. And if they don’t care, they won’t act,” vanden Heuvel said.

Ira S. Hirschfield, President of the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, accepted the award for Champion in Community Leadership. In presenting the award, Bhargava said “We celebrate the Haas Jr. Fund because the pioneers who start working on issues before they are cool deserve special recognition.”

Hirschfield said Community Change “sees the bigger picture of how we are going to level the playing field in this country, for everyone.”

Also recognized at the ceremony was Faron Manuel, the winner of a national youth photo essay contest to illustrate courage and resilience in confronting economic hardship in their life or community. The contest was sponsored by Community Change and The Nation. Manuel is a senior at Clark Atlanta University.

The ceremony was highlighted by performances by Lesole’s Dance Project, an internationally renowned dance company that highlights South African traditional dances, and Split This Rock’s DC Youth Slam Team, which uses poetry to teach and empower teens from the DC area to speak up about issues of social justice.

“Within the back of your throat there’s an activist waiting to get out!” said the DC Youth Slam Team to much applause.

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