Get ready for the entertainment extravaganza of the year! Join the East Valley NAACP in celebrating Motown’s 60th anniversary and honoring outstanding community leaders. The 2019 Freedom Fund Awards featuring all your favorite Motown hits performed by local artists will be held on October 12, 2019 at the Tempe Center for the Arts. The show will honor local leaders, organizations, and businesses that are making an impact in the community in alignment with the mission of the NAACP. The East Valley NAACP is proud to announce the 2019 honorees:

President’s Award: CAIR Arizona

Roy Wilkins Humanitarian Award: Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. – Tempe Alumnae Chapter

Thurgood Marshall Award for Justice: The Honorable Lauren Guyton, Maricopa County Superior Court Commissioner

Barack Obama Award for Political Leadership: The Honorable Reginald Bolding, State Representative and Arizona Legislative Black Caucus Chair

Bass Reeves First Responder Award: Officers Anna Larson and Lindsay Long of the Tempe Police Department

Caesar Chavez Award for Workforce Diversity: Intel Corporation

Dr. Martin Luther King Award for Religious Leadership: Pastor Andre Miller of New Beginnings Church

Fannie Lou Hamer Award for Voting Rights and Access: National Pan-Hellenic Council of Phoenix Metro Area

Ida B. Wells Award for Journalistic Courage: The Arizona Informant

Malala Yousafzai Award for Education Equity: Lloyd Hopkins with the Million Dollar Teacher Project

Navajo Code Talker Award for Veteran Support: The Honorable Ruben Gallego, U.S. Congressman

Sophie Cruz Youth Activist Award: Claire Wiener, March for Our Lives Arizona

Next Generation Change Agents Award: Arcadia High School Black Student Union

Tickets are on sale now and you can catch early bird pricing through September 15, 2019. So fellas, get your tux or smoothest black suit ready and ladies, pull out the gown you’ve been dying to wear and get ready to be dazzled, Motown style, as we recognize outstanding leaders in our community.