Two luminaries of social justice, Marian Wright Edelman and Dolores Huerta, were jointly awarded the Patiño Moore Legacy Award in New Orleans on November 8, 2015, in recognition of their work to unite Black and Brown communities in a shared vision of economic and social well-being.
The Patiño Moore Legacy Award was created jointly by AFBE, Hispanics in Philanthropy and Marguerite Casey Foundation. The award is named after Dr. Douglas Patiño and Wenda Weekes Moore for their ongoing legacy of work to improve relations between Black and Brown communities. Dr. Patiño, vice chancellor emeritus for the California State University system, is a board member of Marguerite Casey Foundation. Mrs. Moore is a former trustee of W.K. Kellogg Foundation and a former board member of the Council on Foundations.
This year, the California Endowment also co-sponsored the award, which was presented to Huerta and Edelman at a board meeting of the Marguerite Casey Foundation. Oleta Garrett Fitzgerald, director of the Children’s Defense Fund’s Southern Regional Office, accepted the award on behalf of Mrs. Edelman. Each recipient will receive an award totaling $125,000.
“It is our honor to recognize the work of these two pioneering women, each of whom have worked diligently to incorporate discussions about race into their work,” said Luz Vega-Marquis, president and CEO of Marguerite Casey Foundation. “By raising the voices of children, of workers, of women, and of other disenfranchised people, they have had an undeniable impact on our country.”
Dolores Huerta co-founded the United Farm Workers with Cesar Chavez in 1962. Huerta, a skilled organizer and negotiator, was instrumental in many of the union’s successes, including strikes against California grape growers in the 1960s and 1970s. She became one of the union’s most visible spokespersons and also served as a critical voice, challenging gender discrimination within the farm worker movement. She stepped down from her leadership role in the UFW in 1999, but has never stopped in her work to improve the lives of workers, immigrants, and women. She was awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Obama in 2012. She is president of the Dolores Huerta Foundation, which she founded in 2002.
Marian Wright Edelman is president and founder of the Children’s Defense Fund, one of the nation’s leading voices for children and families. A graduate of Spelman College and Yale Law School, Mrs. Edelman — the first African American woman admitted to the Mississippi Bar — began her career by leading the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund office in Jackson, Mississippi. After working with the Poor People’s Campaign (organized by Martin Luther King Jr. before his death) and the Washington Research Project, she founded the Children’s Defense Fund in 1973 as a voice for children, particularly poor children, children of color, and children with disabilities. Edelman received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2000.
ABFE – formerly known as The Association of Black Foundation Executives – promotes effective and responsive philanthropy in Black communities. Hispanics in Philanthropy works to strengthen partnerships between organized philanthropy and Latino communities. Marguerite Casey Foundation, an independent national grantmaking foundation, exists to help low-income families elevate their voice and mobilize their communities in order to achieve a more just and equitable society for all.
Hispanics in Philanthropy works to strengthen partnerships between organized philanthropy and Latino communities.
Marguerite Casey Foundation, an independent national grantmaking foundation, exists to help low-income families elevate their voice and mobilize their communities in order to achieve a more just and equitable society for all.
