Civil Rights Work

Avon William Rollins, Sr. is known for his sustained exemplary service in the civil rights arena as well as his leadership in promoting collaboration among ethnic and minority groups. Mr. Rollins currently serves as the director and CEO of the Beck Cultural Exchange Center, Inc., and is a member of FBI Knoxville’s Community Engagement Council and the East Tennessee Civil Rights Working Group.

Mr. Rollins retired in 1994 from the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) as manager of Minority Resources and Development, where he directed TVA’s investments in the minority community and leveraged those funds to generate over $30 million from federal, state, and foundation sources. His leadership in developing successful economic and financial initiatives to benefit African-Americans has included founding Magnolia Federal Savings and Loan, serving as the former chair of the Knoxville Communications Cooperation, and acquiring the first black-owned cable radio and television station in America.

Mr. Rollins serves as an adjunct professor to historically black colleges under the auspices of the National Urban League’s Black Executive Exchange Program. He has also served as a member of the U.S. Congressional Black Caucus Brain Trust.

As one of the co-founders of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, he counts the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X as personal friends. As a result of his civil rights advocacy across the South, more than 20 minority leadership programs have been created for grassroots community development organizations.

Due to his tireless dedication in advancing civil rights, Mr. Rollins has received numerous national, state, and local accolades from organizations such as the National Business League and the Booker T. Washington Foundation. He was bestowed the Heritage Award from the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis and the East Tennessee Minority Professional Association. He has twice been honored with the Minority Business Advocate Award from the U.S. Department of Commerce. In 1993, the National Black Caucus of State Legislators presented him with the National Builders Award. In 1994, Mr. Rollins was honored by the National Association of Human Rights Workers.

2010 Director’s Community Leadership Awards

Susan M. Seligman, New Mexico Anti-Defamation League (ADL) regional director, has spent 21 years working to ensure freedom from prejudice and discrimination. Throughout her career, she has been dedicated to combating anti-Semitism and all forms of hatred through education, legislation, law enforcement, and the media.

Under her leadership, the ADL has been instrumental in passing anti-terrorist and hate crime state legislation. As one of the state’s experts on domestic terrorism, she is a strong supporter of the FBI and other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.

Through her partnership with the Bureau, she has provided hate crime training opportunities for executive management and personnel. In 2008, she helped expand the FBI’s reach through the ADL’s annual national meeting, where former Deputy Director John S. Pistole was the keynote speaker.

After graduating from the FBI’s Citizens’ Academy in 2007, Ms. Seligman volunteered to establish the local FBI Citizens’ Academy Alumni Association chapter and attended the first national FBI Citizens’ Academy Alumni Association leadership conference. Since the chapter’s inception, she has served a three-year presidential term and currently sits on the board of directors. She is also a member of the Albuquerque Division’s Community Engagement Council.

The Navy Honors a Civil Rights Pioneer

By Navy Secretary Ray Mabus

Today in Jackson, Mississippi, I was privileged to honor a civil rights hero and the millions of Americans who have furthered the cause of liberty. As Secretary of the Navy, I am responsible for naming our ships. Today, I announced that the first ship I will name will be the USNS Medgar Evers.

The ship that will carry Medgar Evers name around the world for a generation is a T-AKE, a critically important supply ship. They are traditionally named for famous American pioneers, explorers, and visionaries. They celebrate the dreams and bold action of the American spirit and they honor men and women who have changed our country and the world for the better - men and women like Alan Shepard, Sacagawea, Carl Brashear, and Amelia Earhart. The ships' namesakes represent the rich tapestry that is America.

Medgar Evers carried on that proud tradition of leadership as a pioneer and visionary of the civil rights movement. As a young man, he served in France during the Second World War. Upon returning to the United States, he took up the cause of freedom, rose to become the Field Secretary of the NAACP in Mississippi, and campaigned tirelessly to end segregation and ensure equal treatment for every American.

No less so than the heroes who have fought and died for our country overseas, he gave his life to defend America and its principles when he was assassinated in his own driveway in June of 1963.

It was an emotional ceremony today when I announced my choice, speaking at the Fannie Lou Hamer Institute on Citizenship and Democracy at Jackson State University. The Institute honors another civil rights leader from Mississippi. I was proud to be joined today by the widow of Medgar Evers, Mrs. Myrlie Evers-Williams, as well as by Congressman Bennie Thompson, Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson, former Mississippi Governor William Winter, and a score of other civil rights activists and Mississippians. Sharing the moment with them was a humbling experience for me. It reminded me of how far we have come, but also of how much others who went before us sacrificed on our behalf, just like the Sailors and Marines I’m proud to serve as Secretary.

I believe today we honored the work of legends and in a small way reaffirmed the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that "one day the nation would rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed - that all men are created equal."