NAACP Spingarn Committee Now Receiving Nominations for the 110th NAACP Spingarn Medal Award

Contact: India Artis, iartis@naacpnet.org

Leon W. Russell, Chairman, NAACP National Board of Directors, has announced that we are now soliciting nominations for the 110th SPINGARN MEDAL AWARD. All nominations for the 110th Spingarn Medal Award must be submitted, in writing, on or before December 31, 2024. To be accepted, the postmark date on the envelope must be no later than December 31, 2024. The email must be received by December 31, 2024.

The Medal, which was instituted in 1914 by the late J. E. Spingarn, then NAACP Chairman, is awarded for "the highest or noblest achievement by a living American Negro during the preceding years."

The purpose of the Medal is twofold – first, to call attention of the American people to the existence of distinguished merit and achievement among Americans of African descent; and secondly – to serve as a reward for such achievement and as a stimulus to the ambition of youth of African descent. To date, 109 Spingarn Medals have been awarded to living Americans of African descent for the highest achievement during the preceding year or years, in any honorable field of endeavor.

Medalists include: John Lewis; Myrlie Evers-Williams; Maya Angelou; Harry Belafonte; Julian Bond; The Honorable Willie L. Brown, Jr.; The Honorable Robert L. Carter; The Honorable James E. Clyburn; The Honorable John Conyers; Misty Copeland; Ruby Dee; Hazel N. Dukes; John Hope Franklin; Frankie Muse Freeman; Earl G. Graves, Sr.; Patrick Gaspard; Dorothy I. Height; The Honorable A. Leon Higginbotham; The Honorable Oliver W. Hill, Sr.; Lena Horne; Rev. Jesse Jackson; Dr. Cato Laurencin; The Honorable Nathaniel R. Jones; Quincy Jones; Vernon Jordan; The Honorable Constance Baker Motley; Jessye Norman; Gordon Parks; Sidney Poitier; The Honorable Colin Powell; Percy E. Sutton; Cicely Tyson; Carl Rowan; The Honorable L. Douglas Wilder; Hazel N. Dukes; Henry Louis Gates and Oprah Winfrey.

Nominations must include a detailed, current biographical profile of the nominee, highlighting relevant activities and achievements. Supporting and verifying documents such as news clippings, honors received, etc., should also be attached. This information should be clearly typewritten or printed, as it must be reproduced.

The final selection of the Medalist is made by a Committee of Award, which is selected by the Association's Board of Directors. The Committee's decision is final in all matters affecting the Award.

Nominations should be addressed to: The Spingarn Medal Award Committee, Attention: Mrs. Mildred B. Roxborough, NAACP, 4805 Mt. Hope Drive, Baltimore, MD 21215, and India Artis, iartis@naacpnet.org and must be postmarked OR emailed by December 31, 2024.

THE SPINGARN MEDAL

Awarded annually for the highest achievement of an American of African descent.

THE SPINGARN MEDAL was instituted in 1914 by the late J. E. Spingarn (then Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), who gave annually until his death in 1939, a gold medal to be awarded for the highest or noblest achievement by a living man or woman American Negro during the preceding year or years. A fund sufficient to continue the award was set up by his will "to perpetuate the lifelong interest of my brother, Arthur B. Spingarn, of my wife, Amy E. Spingarn, and of myself in the achievement of the American Negro."

PURPOSE

The purpose of the medal is twofold – first to call the attention of the American people to the existence of distinguished merit and achievement among Americans of African descent, and secondly, to serve as a reward for such achievement, and as a stimulus to the ambition of colored youth.

CONDITIONS

The medal is presented annually to the man or woman of African descent and American citizenship, who shall have made the highest achievement during the preceding year or years in any honorable field of human endeavor. The Committee of Award is bound by no burdensome restrictions but may decide for itself each year what particular act or achievement deserves the highest acclaim; the choice is not limited to any one field, whether of intellectual, spiritual, physical, scientific, artistic, commercial, educational or other endeavor. It is intended primarily that the medal shall be for the highest achievement in the preceding year, but if no achievement in any one year seems to merit it, the Committee may award it for work achieved in preceding years or may withhold it. The medal is usually presented to the winner at the Annual Convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and the presentation speech is delivered by a distinguished citizen.

A nine-person Committee of Award is selected by the NAACP Board of Directors. The Committee's decision is final in all matters affecting the award.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE AWARD

Recommendations should be submitted, in writing, to the Secretary of the Committee of Award, at the National Office, by December 31st of each year. Such communications should state in detail the achievements of the person recommended. Nominations should be addressed to: The Spingarn Medal Award Committee, Attention: Mrs. Mildred B. Roxborough, NAACP, 4805 Mt. Hope Drive, Baltimore, MD 21215, and India Artis, iartis@naacpnet.org and must be postmarked/emailed by December 31, 2024.