Dr. Fosdick given Phillip Murray Award
Press Release
February 2, 1959
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Press Releases, Loose Pages. Dr. Fosdick given Phillip Murray Award, 1959. 1fb33487-bc92-ee11-be37-00224827e97b. LDF Archives, Thurgood Marshall Institute. https://ldfrecollection.org/archives/archives-search/archives-item/190e1369-c1b6-4f33-ae55-0f57f5c778a6/dr-fosdick-given-phillip-murray-award. Accessed November 23, 2025.
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PRESS RELEASE® @
NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATIONAL FUND
10 COLUMBUS CIRCLE © NEW YORK 19,N.Y. © JUdson 6-8397
DR. ALLAN KNIGHT CHALMERS oe THURGOOD MARSHALL
President Director-Counsel
FOR RELEASE: MONDAY, FEBRUARY 2.
DR. FOSDICK GIVEN PHILIP MURRAY AWARD
NEW YORK, -- Dr, Harry Emerson Fosdick, pastor emeritus of
Riverside Church, New York City, last night received the annual Philip
Murray Award of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
Dr. Fosdick is the third outstanding American to be honored by
the Philip Murray Award Committee for "contributing in great measure
to the betterment of race relations" in America. Tho award was made
by Dr. Allan Knight Chalmers, President of the NAACP Legal Defense
Fund, at a reception held at the home of Mrs. Chauncey Waddell,
1 Beekman Place, New York City. Mrs. Waddell is a Board member of the
Fund. A check for 41,000 accompanied the award which Dr, Fosdick will
pass on to one of the many philanthropies in which he is interested.
The citation described Dr, Fosdick as one "who in the Church and
in the community has worked tirelessly for a society in which all men
are truly brothers; who in a life crowded with duties has not only had
the courage but always found time to act against injustice, no matter
how powerful his antagonists; who, by the way in which he has lived his
days, has helped countless men and women to accept and to strive for
the attainment of his vision of a world of peace and equal justice.”
The Philip Murray Award was established in 1955 and named in
honor of the late labor leader Philip Murray. It pays tribute to a
person who has contributed in great moasure to the betterment of race
relations in the United States.
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund has led the strugale
to achieve equal citizenship rights for Negro Americans through the
democratic processes of the courts, Under the direction of Thurgood
Marshall, it has been responsible for arguing in the U. S. Supreme
Court the historic cases which have resulted in the outlawing of segre-
gation in our public schools and it continues to represent Negro school
children and their parents in sesking to obtain equal educational
opportunities,
~30- Jan, 30, 1959