The 11th annual Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Awards was hosted at the
Muhammad Ali Center on Saturday, November 9, highlighting 11
esteemed humanitarians from across the globe.
The Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Awards are the Center’s largest
annual fundraiser and incorporate two categories: Seasoned Awards,
honoring individuals who have dedicated a significant portion of
their lives to humanitarianism, and Six Core Principles Awards,
presented to young adults 30 years of age or younger.
Shaquille O’Neal, NBA Hall of Fame and MVP awardee, was honored
with the Humanitarian of the Year award, raising millions of
dollars for charity and creating opportunities for youth through
his nonprofit The Shaquille O’Neal Foundation. Using his
larger-than-life personality and powerful athleticism, O’Neal has
become a major player in bringing change to local communities in
order to shape brighter futures for children. O’Neal is also a
national spokesperson for the Boys & Girls Club of America, of
which his relationship dates to his youth in New Jersey. In
addition, O’Neal is a member of the national Board of Directors for
Communities in Schools.
“Muhammad Ali set an example for generations by using his
platform to stand up for what he believed in, he had the courage to
‘walk the walk,’ even when it was unpopular,” O’Neal said. “He
personified the saying, ‘with great power comes great
responsibility,’ and he showed us that we all have a duty to
make a difference. This idea has driven me in my post-NBA career
and makes tonight’s honor from the Ali Center especially
meaningful.”
Bryan Stevenson received the Muhammad Ali Lifetime Achievement
Award. Stevenson is the founder and Executive Director of the Equal
Justice Initiative, a human rights organization located in
Montgomery, Alabama that works to eliminate unfair sentencing and
exonerate wrongly condemned prisoners. Stevenson’s work has earned
him multiple awards including the MacArthur Foundation “Genius”
Prize and the National Medal of Liberty from the American Civil
Liberties Union. Stevenson’s book “Just Mercy” is a critically
acclaimed New York Times bestseller and was named one of Time
Magazine’s 10 Best Books of Nonfiction for 2014.
Nile Rodgers, popular songwriter, producer, and philanthropist,
was awarded the Global Citizenship Award. Rodgers uses his talents,
influence, and connections to build a bridge between music and
philanthropy by participating in historic fundraising efforts.
Rodgers co-founded the We Are Family Foundation after 9/11 to
promote the healing process, evolving the organization to create
and support programs that promote cultural diversity and amplifying
the vision of young people who are positively changing the
world.
Dawne Gee, an Emmy award-winning journalist from Louisville,
received the Kentucky Humanitarian Award. Gee has been recognized
by many organizations for her leadership and philanthropic work,
including the Lyman T. Johnson Distinguished Leadership Award and
Louisville’s Keeper of the Dream Award. She founded the nonprofit A
Recipe to End Hunger & Need to focus on ending childhood
hunger, with the program growing to meet the needs of families who
are asking for assistance, often for the first time.
“I know for a fact if we could learn to love as loud as the
world hates what a difference it would make,” Gee said. “It does
not mean we all agree but we can all respect each other and treat
each other with civility and love.”
Joining those Seasoned Awardees were six young international
humanitarians doing work in their countries and communities which
embodies one of Muhammad Ali’s Six Core Principles: Confidence,
Conviction, Dedication, Giving, Respect, and Spirituality.
Deja Foxx (24), from the United States, was given the Confidence
Award for her work in creating the GenZ Girl Gang, a nonprofit
working to bridge generational gaps and sharing opportunities for a
new generation of young women. Foxx has also fought for
comprehensive sex education within her city’s largest school
district.
Charlot Magayi (30), from Kenya, received the Conviction Award
as the founder of Mukuru Clean Stoves, a product to help mothers
keep their children safe and save on fuel consumption. Magayi was
moved to create the product after her two-year-old daughter
suffered a severe burn injury from a traditional stove. Mukuru
Clean Stoves repurposes locally-sourced waste metal to manufacture
reliable cookstoves.
Shah Chowdhury and Mohammad Yasir (28), from Bangladesh, each
received the Dedication award for their work through their
nonprofit Footsteps, empowering over 600,000 people across their
country with safe water, sanitation access, disaster resilience and
improved public health services.
“If you told me 10 years ago that I would be standing here
today, 8000 miles away from home, receiving this incredible honor
in Muhammad Ali’s name, I would say that you were crazy, 100%. This
is a dream come true moment, a dream of a 17-year-old boy born in a
middle class journalist family in a country which people don’t get
to hear often, a dream that came true due to a combination of sheer
determination and dedication towards making this world a better
place, without taking no for an answer,” Chowdhury said.
Sophia Kianni (22), from Iran, received the Giving Award for
creating the nonprofit Climate Cardinals, an international
youth-led organization working to educate and empower about the
climate movement and make it more accessible for individuals who
may not speak English.
Lianna Genovese (24), from Canada, received the Respect Award.
Genovese founded ImaginAble Solutions, a social impact company that
creates assistive technology to improve the quality of life for
individuals with disabilities. Her invention “Guided Hands” enables
people with limited motor skills to write, paint and draw, with
portions of each sale helping to provide products to families in
need.
“Self-expression is beautiful and also a human right, one that
should be accessible to everyone. I believe Muhammad Ali would
agree,” Genovese said.
Richa Gupta (28), from India, earned the Spirituality Award for
creating the Labhya Foundation, a visionary nonprofit pioneering
the well-being movement in her country. Labhya is dedicated to
institutionalizing programming that improves the quality of
education for children. The nonprofit currently impacts 2.4 million
vulnerable children enabling them to tackle poverty.
In addition to tonight’s awards, the Muhammad Ali Center
announced two new upcoming projects promoting the future of the
Center.
The Muhammad Ali Index, created in partnership with national
cultural intelligence consultancy “sparks & honey,” is a
pioneering research study that is designed to track compassion in
America. Starting with a 12-city pilot, the study will measure and
predict compassion through trends in human and artificial
intelligence. Using this data, individuals and organizations will
be able to create a forward-facing view into compassion and aim to
shape a more compassionate future for America.
In 2025, the Muhammad Ali Center will celebrate its 20th
Anniversary. The year will include special events, programming,
exhibits and much more to highlight the many great things the Ali
Center has accomplished and the many great achievements ahead for
the Center.
The Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Awards are made possible through
the generous support of Brown-Forman, as well as by travel
sponsorships from Louisville Tourism and 21C Museum Hotel, and by
all the corporate and individual donors who support this event.
Contact:
Annie Moore
Muhammad Ali Center
amoore@alicenter.org
502.992.5338 or 812.786.1072 mobile
A photo accompanying this announcement is available
at:https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/444e566e-aaec-4c9a-ac39-18e07ef523c4