Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza receives UC Merced’s Spendlove Prize
Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza received UC Merced’s prestigious Alice and Clifford Spendlove Prize on Tuesday night during a virtual ceremony.
The award was established in 2005 and made possible through a gift from Merced native Sherrie Spendlove in honor of her parents, Alice and Clifford. The recipients are chosen for their contributions towards social justice, diplomacy and tolerance.
The author and activist opened her acceptance remarks by talking about the guilty verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial involving the Minneapolis murder of George Floyd. She also registered outrage over the death of Ma’Khia Bryant, a 16-year-old Black girl who was shot to death Tuesday by police in Columbus, Ohio.
Garza spoke about social justice, the changes going on in the nation and about the work she’s done to bring change and build power in Black communities the past two decades.
“I believe that Black communities deserve to be powerful in every area of our lives and we know Black communities are indeed powerful,” Garza said
“It is Black communities that have shown this country what it is made of and what it can be, if it too dares to be free,” Garza said. “It is Black communities who have endured and Black communities who are innovators. You’ve persevered because of and in spite of all of the barriers that have been placed in our paths.”
Aside from co-founding BLM, Garza founded the Black Futures Lab that works to build Black political power and change the way that power operates at a local, state and national level, according to a news release.
Garza also frequently contributes opinion pieces and expert commentary on politics, race, and more to outlets like MSNBC and The New York Times. She has also been on the cover of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in the World issue and been named to Bloomberg’s 50 and Politico’s 50 lists.
The recipients are chosen for their contributions towards social justice, diplomacy and tolerance.
Earlier this month Sherrie Spendlove said organizers try to choose someone who is relevant for the period of time — a person who is “global in their importance of work.”
She also called Black Lives Matter one of the most important grassroots movements since the 1960s.
Previous recipients have included former President Jimmy Carter, Merced native and Harvard professor Charles Ogletree, attorney and professor Anita Hill, activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Menchú Tum, and Armenian American poet Peter Balakian.
The committee that selects the awardee is chaired by UC Merced’s dean of the School of Social Science, Humanities and Arts. It also includes a member of the Spendlove family or representative, an undergraduate student, a graduate student; a faculty member and representatives from the university community.
This story was originally published April 21, 2021 at 8:38 AM.
