The Co-Founder of Black Voters Matter, LaTosha Brown, was all smiles as she was honored at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law annual Higginbotham Leadership Awards Gala.
Brown received the Civil Rights Advocate Award for her outstanding work in the fight for voter’s rights. She posted stunning photos to Instagram of her holding the award alongside the organization’s President and Executive Director, Damon Hewitt, with a caption thanking him and fellow honorees for an amazing night.
“Last night was such a beautiful evening,” Brown wrote.
“I’m so grateful to have received the Civil Rights Advocate award from the Lawyers Committee on Civil Rights…”
“Very grateful for the leadership of Damon Hewitt. It was an extraordinary evening.”
Marking the 60th anniversary of the organization, according to a press release, the annual event “celebrates the exemplary contributions of leaders across sectors” in avenues including corporations, professional athletes, the arts, lawmakers, and more known as champions for racial justice and equity.
“As we commemorate our 60th anniversary at this year’s Higginbotham Leadership Awards Gala, we look back with pride on a history marked by resilience and triumph in the face of adversity while also looking toward the challenging but necessary work ahead,” Hewitt said.
“Our work will help ensure that Black people and other communities of color have the voice, the opportunity, and the power to make the promises of our democracy real.”
Fellow nominees included Dean and Henry Luce Professor of the Columbia Journalism School, Jelani Cobb, and music distribution company Universal Music Group. “Strict Scrutiny” podcast co-host Melissa Murray served as emcee for the evening, with Grammy Award-winning artist Gregory Porter as the musical guest.
Black Voters Matter has played a key role in the fight for voter rights in marginalized communities. In 2017, Brown’s organization was on the front lines of the 2017 U.S. Senate special election in Alabama and again in the 2020-21 Georgia state elections. Over the summer, BVM hosted the ‘The Block Is Hot’ tour to “empower and mobilize communities to create a cleaner, healthier future.” Their main stops were in Georgia, which has been attacked at the polls.
According to the Associated Press, in August 2023, U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee blocked a section of election laws requiring voters to give birthdates on absentee ballot envelopes.
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