The Legal Defense Fund is back celebrating 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 City, LDF honored Stevie Wonder with its inaugural Icon Award. Previous LDF President and Director-Counsel Sherrilyn Ifill received the historic civil rights organization’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and 1619 Project 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 in an era when civil rights— from freedom of 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 audience singing Stevie Wonder’s version of Happy Birthday to him ahead of his 72nd birthday, today, May 13
The legend and social activist wrote the iconic “Black version” of the song to lobby the federal government to make Martin Luther King’s birthday a national holiday. The audience pulled a Stevie on Stevie, launching into his version of Happy Birthday while Oscar-winning actress and LDF presenter Rita Moreno stood by his side.
Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for Legal Defense Fund
02
John Legend, LDF board member, making a surprise appearance with Stevie Wonder, joining his musical “godfather” in a final impromptu performance
After Stevie Wonder first performed with Legend and stressed the importance of LDF’s work in their fight for justice, Legend re-appeared on stage for a solo performance. Wonder later joined him, and the pair closed out with a mash-up of ‘My Cherie Amour’ and Legend’s hit ‘Ordinary People.’
Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for Legal Defense Fund
03
Sherrilyn Ifill and newly minted President and Director-Counsel of the LDF, Janai Nelson, sharing a tight embrace and recalling their “magic” together over the past decade of Ifill’s tenure
Nelson (right) succeeds Ifill (center) in the first woman-to-woman transition of leadership at LDF in the organization’s 82-year history.
Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for Legal Defense Fund
04
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones recalling how the LDF’s work integrating public schools set her on her educational and career path
Hannah-Jones brought it full circle, noting that LDF stood by her in a dispute with her alma mater, UNC Chapel Hill, after reports of their discriminatory treatment against her made headlines.
Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for Legal Defense Fund
05
The Dance Theatre of Harlem delivering a gripping performance
The world-renowned dance institution awed the crowd with a moving ballet named “Higher Ground” in honor of Stevie Wonder in the Rose Theater at Lincoln Center. The performance reflected the tone of the evening- celebrating both our beauty and the strength needed for the fight ahead.
Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for Legal Defense Fund
