President Ruth Simmons received the Thurgood Marshall Award for "community and civil rights contributions" Friday from the Providence branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, according to an NAACP press release.
She received the award at the annual NAACP-Providence Freedom Fund Dinner, where she was also a featured speaker. Professor of Anthropology William Simmons, who sits on the NAACP-Providence board, presented the award.
Other awards went to Col. Brendan Doherty, superintendent of the Rhode Island state police, and Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I.
According to its website, NAACP-Providence was established to ensure "the political, educational, social and economic equality of minority groups." It states as its mission "the goal of eliminating race prejudice and removing all barriers of racial discrimination through advocacy, the electoral process, lobbying, litigation, organization, and protest."
The "One Nation, One Dream" dinner and reception is one of the group's major fundraisers of the year, according to the website.
