ADL Presents Dr. Johnnetta Cole with Joseph Prize for Human Rights
Palm Beach, FL, February 6, 2004 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) presented Dr. Johnnetta B. Cole, President of Bennett College, with its distinguished Joseph Prize for Human Rights at ADL's National Executive Committee Meeting in Palm Beach, Florida.
The League honored Dr. Cole for her lifetime of dedication to advocating on behalf of civil and human rights. The ADL Joseph Prize for Human Rights recognizes leaders for their achievements in advancing freedom, democracy and human rights.
"It is exquisitely fitting that, on this 50th anniversary year of the Brown v. Board of Education decision, we give the Joseph Prize for Human Rights to someone who has spent her life fighting for human rights and human dignity," said Barbara B. Balser, ADL National Chair.
Dr. Cole is the 14th president of Bennett College. She is a graduate of Oberlin College and earned her masters and Ph.D. degrees in anthropology from Northwestern University before launching her career in teaching and research in cultural anthropology, African-American Studies and Women's Studies. Dr. Cole is also President emerita of Spelman College, where she was the first African-American woman to serve as president, and Professor emerita of Emory University. Dr. Cole has taught at Washington State University, The University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Hunter College and The Graduate Faculty of The City University of New York. She Served On President Clinton's Transition Team as Cluster Coordinator for Education, Labor and the Arts and Humanities.
The Joseph Prize was established to honor distinguished individuals who have worked on behalf of human rights and helped to achieve and maintain democratic ideals for all. Past award recipients include President George H.W. Bush, King Hussein of Jordan, South African President F.W. deKlerk and Israeli Prime Ministers Menachem Begin and Golda Meir.
The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.
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