HRC dinner, Mayor's Celebration of Diversity Awards return to in-person ceremony this year

Sarah Loesch
Evansville Courier & Press

EVANSVILLE — The Evansville-Vanderburgh County Human Relations Commission annual dinner and Mayor's Celebration of Diversity Awards will return in-person this year after a virtual celebration in January. 

The event is set for 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 12, 2021, at Old National Events Plaza and will feature keynote speaker Khalil Gibran Muhammad. Ticket donations are $40 and RSVPS are due by Nov. 1. All COVID-19 protocols in place will be followed for the ceremony. 

Nominations for the 2021 Celebration of Diversity Awards are due by Friday, Oct. 29 and can be submitted at www.evansville.in.gov/diversityawards. Five different awards will be given out during the ceremony and nominations can be for an individual, business or organization. 

Khalil Gibran Muhammad

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Khalil Muhammad is the Ford Foundation Professor of History, Race, and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School. His work has been featured in the New York Times’ 1619 Project and Ava DuVernay’s documentary film 13th. 

Muhammad, who holds a Ph.D. from Rutgers University, two honorary doctorates, is the author of “The Condemnation of Blackness: Race, Crime and the Making of Modern Urban America," which won the John Hope Franklin Best Book Award in American Studies. 

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According to a news release from the HRC, much of Muhammad's research focuses on racial criminalization in modern U.S. history. He is co-editor of “Constructing the Carceral State,” a special issue of the Journal of American History, and contributor to a National Research Council study, “The Growth of Incarceration in the United States: Exploring Causes and Consequences.” 

For additional information, please contact the Human Relations Commission at (812) 436-4927, hrc@evansville.in.gov or visit 2021 Human Relations Commission Annual Dinner.

Sarah Loesch can be contacted at sloesch@gannett.com with story ideas and questions.