Father Robert F. Drinan National Peace and
Human Rights Award
Human Rights Award
2012 FATHER ROBERT DRINAN AWARDS
Senator Al Franken addresses the crowd at the Council's 50th anniversary celebration.
Council for a Livable World and the Center for Arms Control and Non Proliferation hosted its sixth annual Father Robert F. Drinan Peace and Human Rights Awards alongside the Council's 50th Anniversary on June 6th in Washington D.C. at the Newseum. This years honorees were former Representative and PeacePAC Chairman David Bonior and the late Edie Wilkie, a longtime advocate and leader for peace and justice.
The program was full of mutual admiration and good humor. Congressman Barney Frank acted as the Master of Ceremonies and, in the process, received a lifetime achievement award from former Rep. Tom Downey, a member of the Council’s Board of Directors. There were also speeches and toasts by Senator Al Franken (D-MN), Representative Shelley Berkley, former Representative and PeacePAC chairman Tom Andrews (D-ME), former Cabinet Secretary Norman Mineta and Communications Workers of America President Larry Cohen.
The speakers told warm stories about the honorees and each other: Rep. Frank talked about Mineta’s rise from incarceration as a Japanese-American during World War II and former Rep. David Bonior (D-MI) mentioned Edie Wilkie’s great work on Latin American issues and so many other heroic efforts. David Bonior was also presented with a cake and attendees enthusiastically sang to him to honor his birthday that day.
The Council for a Livable World is honored and humbled by everyone who joined us for the Drinan Awards and the 50th Anniversary Celebration. Thank you to all those who attended the events and to the many supporters who generously contributed to our work. The event exceeded all of our expectations and we are excited and determined as we look forward to another 50 years working on arms control and non-proliferation.
CWA President Larry Cohen and Ira Lechner presenting David Bonior with a birthday cake.
Former Congressman Tom Downey awarding Congressman Barney Frank with a Lifetime Achievement Award
Edie Wilkie Slideshow
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ABOUT THE DRINAN AWARD
The Father Robert F. Drinan National Peace and Human Rights Award was established in 2006. The award is annually presented by the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation and Council for a Livable World to individuals who exemplify the late Father Drinan's commitment to peace and human justice.
The award broadly focuses on U.S. politics, political science, physical science, biology, peace studies, and peace and human rights activism.
ABOUT FATHER ROBERT DRINAN
In 1970, Father Robert F. Drinan became the first Roman Catholic priest to be elected to the United States Congress. He served five terms as a congressman before an edict by Pope John Paul II forced him to choose between politics and his faith. He consistently championed legislation promoting peace and justice worldwide.
Drinan grew up in Hyde Park and was educated at Boston College. He became a Jesuit, got his law degree at Georgetown, and became dean of the Boston College Law School in 1956. Drinan set up a presidential scholars program to attract top students from around the country. He established the law review and a legal aid clinic in Waltham to help the poor. He was in the vanguard of those who transformed Boston College into a national institution.
Drinan had great intellectual curiosity, energy, and enthusiasm, and later he extended his influence across the city, calling for the desegregation of the Boston schools as part of a broader campaign to secure civil rights for minorities. He also came to oppose the Vietnam War.
With all the goodwill he generated, Drinan was a natural to run as an anti-war candidate for Congress in 1970. He defeated the Democratic incumbent and was invulnerable to conventional opposition during his 10 years in office. But he remained a Jesuit to the core, one of those remarkable men who used the skills acquired in the order to improve the world.
He became a professor at Georgetown Law School, headed Americans for Democratic Action, and worked on international issues for the American Bar Association. He returned often to Boston College, notably in October 2004, when he received the Distinguished Service Medal on the 75th anniversary of the Law School's founding.
Drinan was a longtime member of Council for a Livable World's Board of Directors.
PAST RECIPIENTS OF THE DRINAN AWARD
2010- UAW President Bob King, Representative Jim McGovern
2009 - Congressman Barney Frank, Ambassador Robert Gallucci
2008 - Senator Dianne Feinstein, Congressman John Hall, Actor Richard Schiff
2007 - Senator Edward Kennedy
2006 - Father Robert F. Drinan
