Human Relations Commission Annual Dinner and Mayor’s Celebration of Diversity Awards

Date: Oct 11, 2024

Time: 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM

Location(s):

Ballrooms

The Evansville-Vanderburgh County Human Relations Commission will hold its Annual Dinner and Mayor’s Celebration of Diversity Awards on Friday, November 1, 2024, at 6:30 p.m., at the Old National Events Plaza. The keynote speaker will be Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II. Mayor Stephanie Terry will present the 2024 Mayor’s Celebration of Diversity Awards.

Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II is President and Senior Lecturer of Repairers of the Breach; Co-Chair of the Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival; Bishop with The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries; Executive Board Member of the Christian Church Disciples of Christ; Professor in the Practice of Public Theology and Public Policy; and Founding Director of the Center for Public Theology and Public Policy at Yale Divinity School. He is the author of four books: We Are Called to Be a Movement; Revive Us Again: Vision and Action in Moral Organizing; The Third Reconstruction: Moral Mondays, Fusion Politics, and The Rise of a New Justice Movement; and Forward Together: A Moral Message for The Nation. His new book White Poverty: How Exposing Myths about Race and Class Can Reconstruct American Democracy have released in June 2024.

Dr. Barber is regularly featured in media outlets such as MSNBC, CNN, the New York Times, Washington Post, and The Nation magazine. He was named one of 2020's BET 100 Entertainers and Innovators, and one of the 2019 recipients of the North Carolina Award, the state's highest civilian honor. He is a 2018 MacArthur Foundation Genius Award recipient, a 2015 recipient of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Award, and the recipient of the Puffin Award. Dr. Barber has had twelve honorary degrees conferred upon him. He earned a bachelor’s degree from North Carolina Central University, a Master of Divinity from Duke University, and a Doctorate from Drew University with a concentration in Public Policy and Pastoral Care.

The 2024 Mayor’s Celebration of Diversity Awards recognizes businesses, organizations and individuals that embrace and celebrate diversity. Please visit the HRC website to submit a nomination for the Mayor’s Celebration of Diversity Awards. The deadline to nominate is Friday, September 27, 2024. Corporate sponsorships are also available. For additional information, please contact the Human Relations Commission at (812) 436-4927, hrc@evansville.in.gov or visit 2024 Human Relations Commission Annual Dinner.