From left: CEO of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF), Dwayne Ashley; the Nelson Mandela Foundation’s Head of the Memory Programme, Verne Harris; Information and Communications Manager for the Foundation, Sello Hatang, and founder of the TMCF Joyce Payne
October 1, 2009 – Nelson Mandela has been awarded the 2009 Thurgood Marshall Breaking Barriers Award by the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF). A handover event was held at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg yesterday.
The TMCF describes the award as “the highest honour presented to an individual whose international impact on social justice, equality, public service and leadership embodies the spirit of Marshall’s legacy”.
Presenting the award, TMCF President and CEO Dwayne Ashley said: “Thurgood Marshall dedicated his entire life to equality, as did Nelson Mandela, and it is for this reason that we are privileged to be honouring Mr Mandela with this award.”
Marshall, who died in 1993 at the age of 84, was the first African-American Supreme Court Justice. He transformed American law through his commitment to civil rights and social justice, said Ashley.
The Foundation’s Head of Memory and acting CEO, Verne Harris, said it was an honour to accept the award on Mr Mandela’s behalf.
“As you know, Madiba is increasingly removing himself from the public eye,” said Harris. “While Mr Mandela no longer receives these awards, he normally asks one of his old comrades to accept the award on his behalf, and today I am privileged to do so.”
Ashley explained that the TMCF was established in 1987 “to carry on Marshall’s legacy of equal access to higher education by supporting exceptional merit scholars attending America’s public historically black colleges and universities”.
In 22 years the TMCF has helped over 250 000 students, 85% of whom were African-American and 45% of whom were first-generation college-goers.
Harris and Ashley agreed that the two foundations would work more closely together in future, particularly with regard to internships between the two organisations.