The National Civil Rights Museum will celebrate the contributions of extraordinary African American leaders to civil and human rights at its 35th annual Freedom Award ceremony. This year also marks the museum’s 35th anniversary.
Hosted by acclaimed actor and producer Larentz Tate, the much-anticipated award ceremony is set for 7 p.m. CST Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Memphis. The evening kicks off with a red carpet pre-show gala at the adjacent Halloran Centre for Performing Arts & Education.
The 2026 Freedom Award honorees are visionary trailblazers in their fields of service.
Fred D. Gray, one of the most consequential civil rights attorneys in American history, has practiced law for more than 70 years. In 1955, Gray represented Claudette Colvin and, later, Rosa Parks in the case that sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, becoming Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s first civil rights attorney.
He went on to argue landmark cases such as Browder v. Gayle, ending bus segregation in Montgomery, Gomillion v. Lightfoot, a foundational voting rights case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, and Williams v. Wallace, winning federal protections for the civil rights activists who marched from Selma to Montgomery.
A former Alabama state legislator and past president of the National Bar Association and the Alabama State Bar, Gray helped establish the Tuskegee Human and Civil Rights Multicultural Center, a museum built to honor the hundreds of Black men victimized by the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. In 2022, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
He continues to practice law today in Montgomery and Tuskegee, Alabama.
The Rev. Shavon Arline-Bradley, president and CEO of the National Council of Negro Women, has led the advocacy organization’s network of about 3 million members since March 2023. Under Arline-Bradley’s leadership, the organization has launched the Bethune-Height Changemaker Pathway, a program that connects collegiate Black women to mentors and career opportunities and has grown to more than 100 campus chapters nationwide.
An ordained minister who holds degrees from Tulane University and Virginia Union University, she was named to the Women Who Mean Business list by the Washington Business Journal.
Bakari Sellers, an attorney, author and CNN political commentator, has spent two decades working in law, media and public service. In 2006, at age 22, he became the youngest African American man or woman in American history at that time to win elected office, serving in the House of Representatives of the South Carolina State Legislature for the 90th District. In 2014 he ran on the Democratic ticket for lieutenant governor of South Carolina.
The New York Times bestselling author of “My Vanishing Country: A Memoir” and host of the “Bakari Sellers Podcast,” Sellers is an attorney at the Strom Law Firm in South Carolina.
He has been named to TIME magazine’s 40 Under 40 and The Root 100. He is the son of civil rights leader Cleveland Sellers.
WNBA champion Nneka Ogwumike, the longtime president of the WNBA Players Association, has used her platform to advance the rights of women and girls beyond the court. Ogwumike most recently negotiated a collective bargaining agreement that resulted in significant increases in compensation for players.
During her college career at Stanford, she led the Cardinals to the Final Four four times as a starting forward. She was the #1 WNBA draft pick in 2012. She has been named one of the league’s all-time top 25 players.
In 2024, she joined More Than a Vote, a nonprofit founded by four-time NBA champion LeBron James, recruiting fellow athletes to support voting rights and to expand the organization’s mission to protect women’s reproductive rights. She also serves as a mentor for the WNBA Changemakers Collective and VOICEINSPORT, working to retain female athletes and develop the next generation of diverse leaders on and off the court.
In August, Nneka announced she will retire.
Larenz Tate, who portrayed legendary Motown founder Berry Gordy in the 2026 blockbuster biopic “Michael,” will return to the podium for the second consecutive time to host this year’s ceremony. Grammy Award-winning gospel singer and actress Tamela Mann is set to perform.
Since 1991, the Freedom Award has recognized civil and human rights leaders such as President Bill Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, Congressman John Lewis, Coretta Scott King and the Dalai Lama.
For tickets, sponsorship opportunities and registration for the student forum, visit FreedomAward.org.
