This is a 3-part assignment for African American studies. The subject for the research assignment is Cicely Tyson and her contribution to the civil rights movement. The assignment must include MLA in-

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Press Release

N AA CP Nam es Cicely T yson 95th Spin garn Medalist

April 1, 2010

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NAA CP Nam es Cicely T yson 95th Spin garn Medalist

Civil Rights Activist an d Emmy Award Winnin g Actress to Receiv e Association ’s High est Hon or

(Baltimore, MD) Th e National Association for th e Advancem ent of Co lor ed P eople National Boar d of Directors

ann ounced that actr ess Cicely Tyson will be h onored with th e Association ’s Spin garn Medal, th e NAACP’ s high est

hon or. T yson will becom e the 95th r ecipient of th e award, and will be h onored durin g the NAACP National Conv ention

in Kansas City July 15 at th e annual Spingarn Dinner.

Th e Spin garn Medal, instituted in 1914 b y then-N AACP Chairman Joel E. Spin garn, is awarded for outstan ding an d noble

achie vem ent b y an Am erican of African descent durin g the precedin g years.

“Cicely T yson’s contributions t o African American arts and cultur e in both actin g and modelin g are unpr ecedented an d

inspiring. Not only was Ms. T yson a brilliant and groundbreakin g actr ess but sh e was a stalwar t supporter of human

and civil rights for all Am ericans,” said NAACP Chairman Roslyn M. Br ock. “Her portrayals in masterpieces such as th e

Aut obiograp hy of Miss Jan e Pittman, Roots, an d King,among oth ers, wer e simply dynamic, an d the role sh e has p layed

as a human rights leader an d trailblazer in th e arts is inv aluable.”

“Th e NAACP is pr oud to present our high est honor t o such a deser ving actr ess as Cicely T yson. It is rare to ﬁn d som eone

who uses th eir celebrity status with such dedication an d impact to advance th e causes of human an d civil rights,. . Her

contributions to the stage an d screen an d the civil rights m ovem ent will n ev er be for gotten. We ar e honored t o giv e her

the high est awar d our 101 y ear old organization can best ow,” stated N AACP Pr esident an d CEO Benjamin T odd Jealous.

Tyson began h er career as a fashion m odel, gracing the co ver of both pr emier African Am erican and general mar ket

magazin es such as V ogue and Harper ’s Bazaar in. Sh e later transition ed from h er modelin g career int o actin g, and was

featur ed on se veral tele vision series, m ost notably East Side/W est Side and the lon g-runnin g soap opera Guidin g Light. Tyson went on t o star in the popular off-Br oadway musical Th e Blacks, which f eatured Jam es Earl Jones, Roscoe Lee

Brown e, Louis Gossett, Jr ., Godfrey Cambridge, Ma ya An gelou an d Char les Gor done.

In 1972, T yson received the nomination for th e Academy Award for Best Actr ess for her role in th e ﬁlm Soun der. Sh e

won two Emmys for h er role in th e 1974 ﬁlm Th e Autobiograp hy of Miss Jan e Pittman. Other memorab le tele vision r oles

in clude th e television mini-series Roots, which r eceived 36 Emmy n ominations, Kin g, in which she portrayed Cor etta

Scott Kin g, The Mar va Co llins St ory, Wh en No On e Would Listen an d Oldest Living Confederate Widow T ells All, for

which she garnered h er thir d Emmy .

The Cicely T yson School of P erformin g and Fin e Arts, a magn et school in East Oran ge, New Jerse y, was r enamed in

hon or of T yson. Sh e actively suppor ts the sch ool, located in on e of the state ’s m ost un derser ved communities of co lor .

“I ha ve had th e good for tune of bein g acknowledged for accomp lishments thr oughout my car eer, but th e fact that I am

now bein g recogniz ed for what has been my lif e’s goal b y the most distin guished organization within our community is

movin g be yon d wor ds,” said T yson. “My deepest gratitude goes out t o the Awar d’s Committee, th e NAACP Boar d of

Direct ors an d members of th e NAACP.”

“Th e NAACP is h onored t o pr esent Cicely T yson with its 95th Spin garn Medal for achievem ent b y an African Am erican,”

said NAACP Boar d Vice Chairman an d Chairman of the Convention Plannin g Committee, Leon Russell. “Ms. T yson’s

stellar body of wor k spans several decades, an d she has pr esented aspirin g African American actors, actresses, m odels,

and ar tists with an outstan ding examp le of talent, brillian ce and commitm ent to givin g back t o her community .”

T o date, 94 Spin garn Medals ha ve been awar ded, recognizin g achievem ents in a ran ge of ﬁelds. Medalists in clude Dr.

Benjamin S. Carson, U.S. Rep. Jo hn Conyers (D-MI), form er U.S. Secretary of State Co lin L. Powell, m edia personality

Oprah Winfr ey, baseball hall of fam er Henry “Hank” Aar on, Vernon Jor dan, U.S. Rep. Jo hn Lewis (D-GA), William H.

Cosby, Jr ., Ma ya An gelou, Vir ginia Go vern or L. Douglas Wilder , Rev. Jesse Jackson, P ercy E. Sutt on, Gordon Parks, Jo hn

Hope F ranklin, th e late Judge Leon Higginbotham Jr ., Carl Rowan, N AACP Chairman Em eriti Julian Bond and Myr lie

Evers-Williams, busin essman and publisher Ear l G. Gra ves, Sr ., Dr. Mar tin Luther Kin g, Jr., artist Jacob Lawr ence, Rosa

Par ks, opera sin ger Leontyne Price, Judge Constan ce Baker Motle y, Judge Rober t L. Carter, an d th e late Oliv er W. Hill, Sr .

Foun ded in 1909, th e NAACP–th e nation ’s o ldest, lar gest and most widely-r ecognized grassr oots-based civil rights

organization-is celebratin g its 100th anniversary this y ear. Its m ore than half-million m embers and supporters

through out th e United States an d the wor ld are the pr emier adv ocates for civil rights in th eir communities, conducting

voter m obilization an d monit orin g equal oppor tunity in the public an d priv ate sect ors.

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