January 18, 2017
Dear Friend of The Hamer Institute @ COFO:
The Fannie Lou Hamer Institute @ COFO here at Jackson State University extends this special
invitation to you and your staff to participate in the 2017 Hamer Humanitarian Award Luncheon. This
event will be held Thursday, April 20, 2017, in Ballrooms A & B, located in the New Student Center on the
campus of Jackson State University from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m..
The Hamer Humanitarian Awards Luncheon began several years ago with a dual purpose: (1) to honor and
celebrate individuals that have made major contributions to the area of service and leadership in the pursuit
of social, economic, political, and environmental justice and equality; and (2) to generate funds to support
and maintain our mission of promoting social engagement by examining and teaching the tools and
experiences of those who struggle to create, expand, and sustain social justice and citizenship. Some of the
past honorees include: Dr. Aaron Shirley, Dr. Cora Norman, Mrs. Dorothy Stewart, Mr. Bill Minor, Dr.
Susan Glisson, Mr. John Garner, Rev. Isaiah Madison (posthumously), Rev. Hickman Johnson, Mrs.
Euvester Simpson, Dr. Beverly Wade Hogan, Atty. Chokwe Lumumba (posthumously) and Mr. Albert
Sykes just to name a few. The award luncheon is a much anticipated event by JSU students, faculty and staff
as well as community leaders, approaching upwards of 400 guests each year.
As a supporter of the Fannie Lou Hamer Institute @ COFO and its work in Jackson and throughout the state
of Mississippi, we would be honored if you elected to participate in one of our sponsorship packages
outlined in the attached overview.
We appreciate your continued support. Please contact our offices at 601-979-1563 or 601-979-4348 for
additional information or email: [email protected].
Sincerely,
Rico D. Chapman, Ph.D.
Director
The Fannie Lou Hamer Institute @ COFO
Keith Lamont McMillian, M.A.
Program Manager
The Fannie Lou Hamer Institute @ COFO
The 2017 Fannie Lou Hamer Humanitarian Awards Luncheon
Press Release
The Fannie Lou Hamer Institute @ COFO
Will Honor Five (5) Exceptional Citizens
The Fannie Lou Hamer National Institute on Citizenship and Democracy will recognize the founders of
the Fannie Lou Hamer Institute during the 2017 Fannie Lou Hamer Humanitarian Awards Luncheon to be held
Thursday, April 20, 2017. The honorees will receive the Fannie Lou Hamer Humanitarian Award in an 11:30
a.m. ceremony held in Ballrooms A & B of the New Student Union on the campus of Jackson State University.
The founding members of the Fannie Lou Hamer National Institute on Citizenship and Democracy are a coalition
of academics who promote civic engagement and popular sovereignty through the study of the struggle for civil
rights in the United States.
To be honored are Mr. Martin Bennett, Instructor Emeritus of American history at Santa Rosa Junior College
where he has taught for twenty-five years. He is Co-Chair of North Bay Jobs with Justice affiliated with the
national Jobs with Justice network. Bennett is also a Research and Policy Analyst for UNITE HERE 2850, a
union representing restaurant, hotel, and food service workers in the North and East Bay. He is one of the
founders of the North Bay Organizing Project (NBOP), a faith community based organizing project in the North
Bay affiliated with the Gamaliel Foundation and he served on the NBOP Leadership Council. In 2015, he was
honored as the "Sonoma County Democrat of the Year" by the Sonoma County Democratic Party and in 2016, he
was presented the "Peace and Justice" annual award by the Peace and Justice Center of Sonoma County.
The Hamer Institute will also honor Dr. Michelle D. Deardorff, Professor and Department Head, Political
Science & Public Service at the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga. Deardorff’s teaching and research has
focused on the constitutional and statutory protections surrounding gender, race, and religion, as well as explored
the insights provided by political theory. Her most recent publication is entitled Pregnancy and the American
Worker (Palgrave MacMillan 2016), which examines the lower federal courts’ interpretation of the Pregnancy
Discrimination Act of 1978 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 in relationship to pregnancy
protections in employment. The book was coauthored with James Dahl, University of Illinois-ChampaignUrbana.
Professor of History at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall, Minnesota, Dr. Jeffrey Kolnick, will
also be recognized. Kolnick is a modern U.S. historian who is also a scholar of the American Civil Rights
Movement. He has served as a core faculty member in several of the Hamer Institute’s Landmark grants. Kolnick
is co-author of a book on the 1964 Mississippi Summer Project, Freedom Summer: A Brief History with
Documents, published by Bedford St Martin’s Press in 2016
The Hamer Institute is also recognizing Dr. Leslie Burl McLemore. McLemore is a veteran of the Southern
Civil Rights Movement. As a Rust College student, Dr. McLemore was the founding President of the College
Chapter of the NAACP. He organized and led several demonstrations and voter registration drives during his
tenure at Rust. Dr. McLemore was a founding member and elected vice-chair of the MFDP in 1964. He was also
founding chair of the Department of Political Science, as well as former dean of the Graduate School and
founding director of the Office of Research Administration at Jackson State University. He is a past chair of the
Mississippi Humanities Council and past vice-chair of the Board of the Federation of State Humanities Councils.
In addition, Dr. McLemore was the founding Director of the Fannie Lou Hamer National Institute on Citizenship
and Democracy at Jackson State University.
Dr. Thandekile Ruth Mason Mvusi, founder and CEO of the History Lesson Project, will also be
recognized. Dr. Mvusi has more than 25 years of experience teaching, studying, and researching the history
and cultures of Africa, African Americans, and the Diaspora. Her areas of expertise in African History are
20th century Zambia, Apartheid South Africa, and Swaziland. She has a long-held interest in the 19th
Century South and its legacies for 21st Century America. Gender and race construction in each of the above,
as well as the Diaspora constitute her current interests, as well as the civil rights and labor Movements in the
USA. She uses disciplines within the Humanities, along with those of the Social Sciences, to reach
audiences both within the walls of the academy and in the community.
In recognition of 20 years of service, The Fannie Lou Hamer Institute will also be recognized. Founded in
1997, the mission of the Hamer Institute is to promote positive social change by examining the tools and
experiences of those who struggle to create, expand, and sustain civil rights, social justice, and citizenship.
Named in honor of Fannie Lou Hamer, a Mississippi civil rights leader who was instrumental in
forming the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, the Institute’s vision is to nurture a generation of young
people engaged in and committed to discourse on civil rights, social justice, and citizenship.
Come let us recognize our fellow citizens and commemorate 20 years of service for the Fannie Lou Hamer
Institute, Thursday, April 20, 2017, on the campus of Jackson State University. For more information, please
contact the Fannie Lou Hamer Institute @ COFO at 601-979-1563 or 601-979-4348 or email:
[email protected]
Tickets are now available: $40.00/Person * $295.00/ Table of 8
Reserve your seats today at: www.jsums.edu/HamerInstitute/HumanitarianAward
Fannie Lou Hamer SILVER Sponsor ($2200 Estimated Sponsorship Value) $1100.00
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An opportunity to have a demonstration table in the registration area
Full page color advertisement in the Souvenir Journal
Listing and logo on all publications, advertisements, and press releases
Recognition on the event's website and a link to the company's website
Sponsorship plaque
16 VIP Passes – Hamer Humanitarian Award Luncheon
Fannie Lou Hamer BRONZE Sponsor ($1600 Estimated Sponsorship Value) $850.00
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Full page color advertisement in the Souvenir Journal
Listing and logo in all publications, advertisement, and press releases
Recognition on the event's website and a link to the company's website
Sponsorship Certificate
10 VIP Passes – Hamer Humanitarian Award Luncheon
Fannie Lou Hamer CIRCLE Sponsor ($800 Estimated Sponsorship Value) $500.00
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Full page color advertisement in the Souvenir Journal
Listing in all publications, advertisements, website, and press releases
Sponsorship Certificate
8 VIP Passes – Hamer Humanitarian Award Luncheon
Sponsorship Benefits
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Tap into a wealth of consumers
Enhance your corporate image and link your products and services to a respected community
service organization
Increase product awareness through sampling, brand, etc…
Vendor space provided (Gold and Silver packages only)
Sponsorship Package: (please check one)
____ FLH – Silver Package ($1100.00)
____ FLH – Bronze Pkg. ($850.00)
____ FLH – Circle Sponsor ($500.00)
____ FLH – Table of 8 ($295.00)
____ FLH – Single Tickets ($40.00) X _____
Ad Selection
_____ $50.00 ¼ page ad
____ $100.00 ½ page ad
____ $200.00 full page ad
Business/Org. Name: ____________________________________________________________________________
Contact Person: _____________________________________ Position: __________________________________
Address: ______________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________State: __________ Zip: _________________
Phone Number: _____________________________________ Fax Number: _______________________________
E-mail: __________________________________________ Website: _____________________________________
Payment Method:
_____ Cash
_____ Check
_____ Money Order
____ Purchase Order
______________________________________________ ________________________________________________
Name (Please Print)
Date
Signature
Date
Submission & Other Considerations
Please submit the original ad purchase form and your payment on or before Friday, April 7, 2017.
Ad graphic & content formats accepted: Adobe PDF; jpeg; Word; business cards or paper copies
e-mail: [email protected], or mail (see below)
o If you would like to discuss any sponsorship opportunities or discuss payment details, please do not
hesitate to contact the institute at 601-979-1563 or 601-979-4348
o Full payment for Sponsorship must be received no later than Friday, April 7, 2017
We appreciate your support and welcome you to the Fannie Lou Hamer Humanitarian Awards Luncheon.
The Hamer Institute * Jackson State University * JSU Box 17081 * Jackson, Mississippi 39217 *