Alumnus receives 2007 Presidential Medal of Freedom
by Anne Divita Kopacz
Benjamin L. Hooks (’48), a civil rights leader and former executive director of the NAACP, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, from President George W. Bush in November 2007. Hooks is the first DePaul graduate to receive the honor.
A White House press release states that Hooks was honored for dedicating “his life to equality, opportunity and justice. He is a pioneer of the civil rights movement, and his efforts to extend the full promise of America to all its citizens have helped bring our nation closer to its founding ideals.”
Glen Weissenberger, dean of the College of Law, adds, “Benjamin Hooks is a remarkable leader whose extraordinary accomplishments reflect his dedication to improving equality, as well as his passion for the law. His resolve and exceptional work to advance civil rights in America has helped shape the College of Law’s own understanding of the Vincentian mission.”
A native of Tennessee, Hooks returned to Memphis after earning his law degree to be part of the growing civil rights movement. He became active in the NAACP and, in 1977, took the position of executive director. Hooks also was the first African American to be appointed to the Federal Communications Commission. DePaul recognized Hooks’ accomplishments with an honorary degree in 1977, and the College of Law presented him with an alumni award for outstanding service to the field of public interest in 2003.
Seven others also received a 2007 Medal of Freedom: Gary S. Becker, a Nobel Prize-winning economist; Oscar Elias Biscet, a human rights advocate; Francis S. Collins, director of the National Human Genome Research Institute; Henry J. Hyde, former U.S. Representative from Illinois; Brian Lamb, president of C-Span; Harper Lee, author of “To Kill a Mockingbird”; and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, the first woman elected president of an African nation.
Media Contact: Valerie Phillips, (312)362-5039 - vphillip@depaul.edu