Photo by Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for the Legal Defense Fund
The Legal Defense Fund is back to celebrate truth tellers and justice fighters at its annual awards ceremony after a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19.
On Tuesday at the 34th National Equal Justice Awards dinner at Lincoln Center in New York, LDF honored Stevie Wonder with his first Icon Award. Former LDF president and attorney-director Sherrilyn Ifill received the historic civil rights organization’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and Project 1619 creator and ESSENCE cover star Nikole Hannah-Jones won the Spirit of Justice award.
Founded by the first black Supreme Court justice, Thurgood Marshall, LDF has served black people across the country for generations with hard-won legal victories, including Brown v. Board of Education.
The annual awards ceremony serves as a call to action to support the organization’s work, especially at a time when civil rights – from free speech to rights to privacy and bodily autonomy – continue to be eroded.
Here are 5 special moments from this year’s ceremony, themed “Truth is Power”:
01
The public singing Stevie Wonder’s version of Happy Birthday to her ahead of her 72nd birthday, today May 13
The legend and social activist wrote the iconic “black version” of the song to pressure the federal government into making Martin Luther King’s birthday a national holiday. The audience pulled a Stevie on Stevie, launching into her version of Happy Birthday as Oscar-winning actress and LDF presenter Rita Moreno stood by her side.
Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for the Legal Defense Fund
02
LDF board member John Legend making a surprise appearance with Stevie Wonder, joining his musical ‘godfather’ in one last impromptu performance
After Stevie Wonder performed with Legend for the first time and emphasized the importance of LDF’s work in their fight for justice, Legend reappeared on stage for a solo performance. Wonder joined him later, and the duet ended with a medley of “My Cherie Amour” and Legend’s hit “Ordinary People.”
Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for the Legal Defense Fund
03
Sherrilyn Ifill and new DFL President and Director-Advocate Janai Nelson sharing a close embrace and recalling their “magic” together over the past decade of Ifill’s tenure
Nelson (right) succeeds Ifill (centre) in the first female-to-female leadership transition at LDF in the organisation’s 82-year history.
Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for the Legal Defense Fund
04
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones recalls how the LDF’s public school integration work set her on her academic and career path
Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for the Legal Defense Fund
05
Harlem’s Dance Theater delivers a captivating performance
The world-renowned dance institution wowed the crowd with a moving ballet titled “Higher Ground” in honor of Stevie Wonder at the Rose Theater at Lincoln Center. The performance captured the tone of the evening, celebrating both our beauty and the strength needed for the fight ahead.
Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for the Legal Defense Fund
