The Remarkable Honorees of Power to Inspire 2024 

The Remarkable Honorees of Power to Inspire 2024 

The National Center for Civil and Human Rights (NCCHR) will present its tenth annual Power to Inspire awards, recognizing individuals who were on the front lines of integrating their schools following the Supreme Court’s landmark 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka decision. From their remarkable achievements to their unwavering commitment to making a difference, each honoree has a unique story that truly resonates with the spirit of Brown v. Board of Education. Read on to learn more about these inspirational figures and their profound impact on the forward movement of equity in education.

Adrienne J. Bennett and her family advocated for desegregated schools in their local D.C. community, led by her parents’ participation in the Consolidated Parents’ Group. In 1952, Adrienne, her father, and her sister Barbara were named as plaintiffs with six others in the Bolling v. Sharpe case. This case was combined with four other United States segregated schooling cases and became known jointly as Oliver Brown et al. v. the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. Adrienne graduated from Spingarn High School in Washington, D.C. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education and proudly taught 2nd and 3rd graders for thirty-one years in the District of Columbia Public School system.

Deborah Richardson’s interest in civil rights advocacy began as a young child. For the first fourteen years of her life, her community included adults who were professionals, everyday people, and foot soldiers of the movement. Her engagement began when her parents “volunteered” her to be among the first Black students to integrate into Atlanta Public Schools. Deborah’s school experience vastly changed compared to her neighborhood school. Although challenging for Deborah, her parents instilled the understanding that her struggle was about something bigger than her, which set the foundation for Deborah’s philosophies on activism throughout her life. Deborah has served in several leadership positions advocating for civil and human rights. She is currently the Executive Director of the ACLU Colorado. 

Dr. Cheryl Brown Henderson is one of three children of the late Rev. Oliver L. Brown, namesake of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision, Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka (K.S.). Her sister, Linda Brown, was one of the students represented in the landmark case. Dr. Henderson has led the charge for education advocacy, using her background in educational administration, business, public relations, civic leadership, public policy, and federal legislative development to continue the legacy her father started. She is the Founding President of The Brown Foundation for Educational Equity, Excellence and Research and the owner of the Brown & Associates educational consulting firm.

Dr. Leona Tate was one of four 6-year-old girls in New Orleans who integrated white-only public elementary schools in the deep south six years after the Brown v. Board of Education ruling. On November 14, 1960, Dr. Tate, Gail Etienne, and Tessie Prevost enrolled in McDonough No. 19 School in the Historic Ninth Ward. A fourth girl, Ruby Bridges, began classes at William Frantz School simultaneously. Federal marshals escorted The New Orleans Four to the schools. In 2009, Leona Tate established the Leona Tate Foundation for Change, Inc. to purchase McDonough 19, the school she integrated. Today, she and her partners have renovated the historic campus, which reopened as the Tate, Etienne, and Prevost (TEP) Center in May 2022.

Duane Fleming and his family were among the families represented in the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision. Before the decision, Duane could not attend Lafayette Elementary, an all-white school two blocks from his home. Despite attending segregated schools, Duane often played with the white children in his neighborhood. During the case proceedings, Duane’s father provided powerful testimony that contributed to the case. The outcome of the decision made it possible for him to attend Lafayette Elementary.  

James Meredith is an author and activist who dedicated his life to ensuring equal treatment for African Americans. In 1961, James applied to the all-white University of Mississippi after serving several years in the Army Air Force. His admission was accepted but withdrawn when the registrar discovered his race. Since all public educational institutions had been ordered to desegregate by this time (following 1954’s Brown v. Board of Education ruling), Meredith filed a suit alleging discrimination. Although the district court ruled against him, the case went to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled in his favor. On October 1, 1962, James Meredith became the first black student to enroll at the University of Mississippi. James continued to advocate for civil rights, leading a one-man Walk Against Fear supported by civil rights legends Dr. King and Stokely Carmichael.

Joan Anderson and her family became a part of the Brown v. Board of Education case in 1952 after moving to a suburb of Claymont, Delaware. For the first time, Joan and her sisters faced the possibility of being bussed to an all-Black school. Joan’s parents involved themselves with existing parent groups advocating for integration, allowing Joan and her siblings to integrate into Claymont High School. This event was the first court-mandated integration of a public school in the United States and the basis for how integration could work in Brown v. Board of Education. Joan graduated from Claymont High School and attended Fisk University and Boston University, where she graduated in 1960. She also graduated from the L.I. Bible School and is now a writer and motivational speaker. 

Joan Johns Cobbs was 13 in 1951 when she joined her sister, Barbara Johns, and other students protesting the poor conditions of their segregated Black school, Robert Russa Moton High School in Farmville, Virginia. Joan became a plaintiff in Davis v. County Board of Supervisors of Prince Edward County, Virginia, one of five cases consolidated under Brown v. Board of Education. After graduating from high school, Joan attended Howard University in Washington, D.C. She was later employed by the United States Department of Agriculture and attended their graduate program.

Linda Florence Clonts embodies courage, perseverance, and unwavering dedication. Raised in Powder Springs, GA, Linda attended Lemon Street High School, where both triumph and tribulation marked her academic journey. In 1965, during her junior year, Linda became one of the pioneering Black students selected for desegregation. Linda faced hostility and discrimination that tested her spirit. She endured hurtful slurs and acts of cruelty, such as finding derogatory remarks pinned to her back and her locker vandalized with chalk. The toll of these challenges ultimately led Linda to leave school after her junior year. Linda’s story is a testament to her resilience and determination to create a better life for herself and her loved ones.

Minnijean Brown Trickey was just 16 years old when she courageously became one of the Little Rock Nine, the first African American students to integrate the city’s high school with protection from federal troops. Despite facing verbal abuse outside and physical abuse inside the school, Minnijean knew the power of showing up for school each day. She continued until she was expelled after standing up to the abuse she faced from a white group of students. She moved to New York and earned a Bachelor of Social Work in Native Human Services from Laurentian University and a Master of Social Work from Carleton University, Ontario, Canada. She served in the Clinton Administration as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Workforce Diversity at the Department of Interior and held many other impactful roles throughout her career. 

Nathanial Briggs’s parents were the first petitioners responsible for the genesis of the Briggs v. Elliott school desegregation case in Clarendon County, South Carolina. The Briggs case was the 20th Century’s first legal challenge to the separate but equal practice in the United States and was later joined with four other lawsuits that became known as Brown v. Board of Education. Nate attended the segregated Black school in South Carolina. However, due to racial tension caused by his parents’ involvement in the school desegregation case, the family was forced to move first to Miami, FL, until 1962, then to New York City, where Nate completed his education in the New York City public school system. Nathanial devoted his life to service, being drafted to the Army in 1968 and joining the New Jersey National Guard for an additional 13 years.

Ruby Bridges is a civil rights icon, activist, author, and speaker who, at the age of six, was the first Black student to integrate an all-white elementary school alone in Louisiana. She was born in Mississippi in 1954, the same year the United States Supreme Court handed down its landmark decision ordering the integration of public schools. Her family later moved to New Orleans, where, on November 14, 1960, Bridges began attending William Frantz Elementary School, single-handedly initiating the desegregation of public education. Ruby established the Ruby Bridges Foundation to provide leadership training programs that inspire youth and community leaders to embrace and value the richness of diversity. 

Victoria Lawton Benson is a passionate civil rights spokeswoman. She and her sister, Carol Kay Lawton, became child plaintiffs in Brown v. Board of Education when her mother, Maude E. Lawton, grew tired of their journey to Buchanan Elementary School (the designated all-Black school) when Lowman Elementary was just one block away from her home. Maude was one of the original 13 plaintiffs from Topeka, Kansas. Victoria was just six years old when her family joined the case, but her mother’s determination made a lasting impression. Victoria went on to become the first Black American to graduate from beauty school in Topeka and has been the creative force behind theBlack women-owned hairstyling business, Victoria’s Salon, for over six decades. 

William (Bill) Campbell became the first Black child to integrate into the public schools of North Carolina and much of the South in 1960. He was the victim of bullying and harassment at Murphey School, and his family often received bomb threats, causing them to leave their home on numerous occasions. Campbell was the only Black child at Murphey for five years. Bill Campbell graduated cum laude from Vanderbilt University and then finished his education at the Duke Law School. After graduating, Campbell joined a law firm in Atlanta and served on the Atlanta City Council for twelve years before he was elected the 57th Mayor in 1993. His focus on public housing reform led Atlanta to a remarkable renaissance, heralding a population and building growth that continues today.