MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Civil rights attorney Fred D. Gray, National Council of Negro Women President and CEO Shavon Arline-Bradley, attorney and political commentator Bakari Sellers and WNBA star Nneka Ogwumike have been named honorees for the National Civil Rights Museum’s 2026 Freedom Award.
The honorees will be recognized during the museum’s annual Freedom Award ceremony Oct. 1 at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Memphis. The Freedom Award, the museum’s signature event, recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to civil and human rights. Since its establishment in 1991, the award has honored civil rights leaders and other prominent figures including Coretta Scott King, Nelson Mandela, John Lewis and Oprah Winfrey.
Gray, whose civil rights law career spans more than six decades, represented Claudette Colvin and Rosa Parks in 1955 and served as Martin Luther King Jr.’s first civil rights attorney. His landmark cases included Browder v. Gayle, which led to the desegregation of Montgomery, Alabama’s buses, and Williams v. Wallace, which protected participants in the Selma-to-Montgomery march. Gray received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2022.
Arline-Bradley became the first president and CEO of the National Council of Negro Women in March 2023. She leads the organization’s network of approximately 3 million members and has worked to expand mentorship, career development and leadership opportunities for young Black women. She has also delivered the Martin Luther King Jr. Day sermon at Washington National Cathedral and served as a keynote speaker for Ebenezer Baptist Church’s King holiday observance.
Sellers is an attorney, author and political commentator who was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 2006 at age 22. He later became the 2014 Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor of South Carolina. A graduate of Morehouse College and the University of South Carolina School of Law, Sellers is the author of the New York Times bestseller “My Vanishing Country” and the children’s book “Who Are Your People?”
Ogwumike is a professional basketball player, former WNBA MVP and longtime advocate for athletes and civic engagement. Selected first overall by the Los Angeles Sparks in the 2012 WNBA Draft, she helped the Sparks win the 2016 WNBA championship and was named the league’s MVP that year. Ogwumike has also served as president of the WNBA Players Association and has advocated for women athletes and girls in sports.
Actor Larenz Tate will host this year’s ceremony. Tate, whose film and television credits include “Menace II Society,” “Love Jones” and “Power Book II: Ghost,” is also a producer through TateMen Entertainment.
Grammy Award-winning gospel singer and actress Tamela Mann will provide entertainment. Mann began her career as a vocalist with Kirk Franklin and the Family before establishing a solo career that has included multiple No. 1 gospel hits. She is also known for her longtime collaborations with Tyler Perry and her portrayal of Cora Simmons in the “Madea” and “Meet the Browns” franchises.
The Freedom Award ceremony will be preceded by a Pre-Award Gala and Red Carpet at the Halloran Centre, adjacent to the Orpheum Theatre.
The museum also will hold its Freedom Award Student Forum earlier Oct. 1 at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church. The forum gives students an opportunity to hear from Freedom Award honorees and is expected to bring together as many as 2,500 students and educators in person, with additional classrooms participating virtually.
The National Civil Rights Museum has presented the Freedom Award annually since 1991 to recognize individuals whose work has contributed to civil and human rights in the United States and around the world.
