Every month, BORDC honors an individual who has made an outstanding contribution in his or her community to the movement to restore civil liberties and the rule of law.
-
Defending Rights & Dissent Raises Troubling Issues with William Barr’s Views on War Powers
One particularly troubling aspect of Barr’s views that have flown under the radar is his disturbing views about presidential war powers. On three separate occasions–Panama, Iraq, and Somalia–Barr advised then-President George H.W. Bush who use military force without congressional approval.
-
Crystal Jones is our November Patriot. Cleveland’s first female heavy equipment operator demanded free speech (and got it).
Ms. Jones recently settled a lawsuit that she filed in 2017 against the City of Cleveland forcing the City’s Administration to cease the suppression of her and her co-workers first amendment rights to free speech relative to working conditions on the job, misogyny, and disparate treatment.
-
Fatema Ahmad Receives July Patriot Award
Fatema Ahmad, the recipient of DRAD’s Ju
-
Kit Bonson, Patriot
Kit has been an activist and organizer for over 35 years, primarily for reproductive rights and for peace and justice issues. In 2010, she was one of the co-founders (with Thomas Nephew, Martine Zee and our own Sue Udry) of the Montgomery County Civil Rights Coalition, in response to FBI raids on midwest activists.
-
Steven Woolfolk Receives October 2016 Patriot Award
Steven Woolfolk is the director of public programming and marketing at the Kansas City Public Library, He was arrested during a library event in May for defending a patron’s First Amendment rights.
-
Manzoor Cheema Receives July 2016 Patriot Award
The Bill of Rights Defense Committee/Def
-
Rhonda Y. Williams Named June 2016 Patriot Award Winner
Rhonda Y. Williams is the recipient of B
-
Legal Worker, Social Justice Activist Kris Hermes Honored With May Patriot Award
BORDC/DDF is proud to present Kris Hermes with the May 2016 Patriot Award. Kris is a legal worker who recently served on the board and staff of the National Lawyers Guild. He has been a social justice activist since the 1980s, when he worked on the issues of global hunger and poverty. In the late 1990s, he became a member of ACT UP Philadelphia, a group that works to advance social change on health care issues for people with HIV/AIDS. ACT UP Philadelphia describes itself as “a group of individuals united in anger and committed to ending the AIDS crisis through direct action.”
-
Oakland Privacy Activist Brian Hofer Receives March 2016 Patriot Award
With the Oakland Privacy Working Group, Brian Hofer has made Oakland, California, a model for all cities seeking to gain control of the amount and type of information the government collects about their citizens.
-
Shannon Erwin Receives February 2016 Patriot Award
BORDC/DDF is proud to honor Shannon Erwin with our Patriot Award and to spotlight the Muslim Justice League of Boston, Massachusetts, helping to protect the civil rights of Muslims at a time when they are increasingly in jeopardy. Shannon is the executive director and one of the four Muslim women co-founders of MJL. “Our long-term hope,” Shannon says, “is to live in a world without suspect communities.”
-
John Kiriakou Named January 2016 Patriot Award Winner
We are delighted to honor former CIA agent and whistleblower John Kiriakou with the first Patriot Award of 2016! Join us in appreciation of his courage and sacrifice in exposing torture and campaigning against solitary confinement.
-
Rasmea Odeh Named December 2015 Patriot Award Winner
We are honored to present the December 2015 Patriot Award to Rasmea Odeh. Rasmea is being recognized for her work organizing immigrant women with the Arab Women’s Committee of the Arab American Action Network.
-
Shahina Parveen is November 2015 Patriot Award Winner
BORDC’s Patriot Award for November 2015
-
Lyric Cabral and David Felix Sutcliffe – September 2015
BORDC/DDF is pleased to present Lyric Ca
-
Marsha Coleman-Adebayo – July 2015
BORDC’s Patriot Award for July 2015 goes
-
Genevieve Mitchell – June 2015
Genevieve Mitchell, of Cleveland, OH, is