(Washington, DC, January 15, 2004)—The Embassy of Israel and the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism presented Diana Aviv, president and CEO of INDEPENDENT SECTOR, with the 2004 Civil Rights Leadership Award in a ceremony commemorating the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Ms. Aviv and Hugh Price, immediate past president of the National Urban League, were honored for their commitment to Dr. King's legacy of strengthening justice and equality for all Americans.

In her acceptance speech, Ms. Aviv recounted her awakening to the South African government's former system of apartheid as a youngster and her resulting activism in South Africa. In the United States, she has made a career of advocating for civil rights for the nation's most vulnerable populations, such as children, low-income families, seniors, immigrants and refugees, working in partnership with ecumenical groups and communities of color.

Ms. Aviv also relayed in her speech the importance of following Dr. King’s legacy and mantle of dissatisfaction of unacceptable social conditions in society and taking remedial action. Ms. Aviv stated, "One of the most important―and enduring―lessons Martin Luther King left is that it is important to be dissatisfied if it compels us to action. He was perpetually dissatisfied with conditions around him, and this propelled his lifelong struggle to promote tolerance and improve conditions for disenfranchised people."

Click here for the full text of Ms. Aviv's speech.

The Embassy of Israel has hosted a tribute to the life and work of Dr. King since 1985. Past recipients of the award include: the Honorable William H. Gray, Dr. Dorothy Height, Dr. Benjamin Hooks, Kweisi Mfume, Ralph Neas, Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, Rabbi David Saperstein, Albert Vorspan and Raul Yzaguirre.

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INDEPENDENT SECTOR is a nonprofit, nonpartisan coalition of more than 700 national organizations, foundations, and corporate philanthropy programs, collectively representing tens of thousands of charitable groups in every state across the nation. Its mission is to promote, strengthen, and advance the nonprofit and philanthropic community to foster private initiative for the public good.

INDEPENDENT SECTOR Contacts: Carla Bundy or Patricia Nash
Phone: 202-467-6100
Website: www.IndependentSector.org
Email: info@IndependentSector.org