Durham Civic Leader To Receive 2001 Moral Leadership Award
DURHAM, N.C. - Elna B. Spaulding, founder of Women-In-Action for the Prevention of Violence and Its Causes, is scheduled to receive the 2001 William C. Friday Award in Moral Leadership at a Nov. 19 ceremony at Duke University.
The award, established in 1999 by the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke, recognizes individuals who have made a difference through principled, visionary and effective moral leadership.
"I am pleased and honored to announce that Elna Spaulding is this year's recipient of the William C. Friday Award in Moral Leadership," Duke President Nannerl O. Keohane said. "Moral leadership can make the difference between peace and violence, justice and oppression, civility and discord. It is important to recognize and honor those people like Mrs. Spaulding who have demonstrated exemplary moral leadership and helped to make the world a better place."
The biennial award was first conferred on William C. Friday, the former president of the University of North Carolina and former executive director of the William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust. Nominations for the 2001 award were sought from nearly 300 educational, civic, religious and community leaders across the state.
Spaulding, 92, will be presented the award, which includes a $5,000 prize, at a 5 p.m. ceremony in Duke's John Hope Franklin Center for Interdisciplinary and International Studies, at the corner of Erwin Road and Trent Drive.
A panel discussion, titled "How Does Moral Leadership Make a Difference?," will be held in conjunction with the award ceremony. Panelists include: Duke public policy professor James A. Joseph, director of the United States-Southern African Center for Leadership and Public Values and former U.S. ambassador to South Africa; Rushworth M. Kidder, founder and president of the Institute for Global Ethics; and Amanda Smith, a writer and Durham community activist.
Both the panel and award presentation are free and open to the public.
Women-In-Action, founded in 1968 after Spaulding attended a national conference on "What Women Can Do to End Violence in America," brought together Durham blacks and whites - many for the first time - to focus on basic needs and root causes of poverty and violence. Dedicated to working for peaceful integration during the civil rights movement, the group played a critical role in negotiating the conclusion of the black buying boycott of 1968-69 and smoothing the way for the 1970 court-ordered desegregation of Durham's public schools.
Under Spaulding's leadership, Women-In-Action established a clearinghouse in 1971 to provide direct financial assistance and referral serves to low-income Durham families and individuals. About 40 churches, community groups and other agencies rely on the clearinghouse today to screen potential clients.
"Mrs. Spaulding provided visionary leadership and built a moral consensus at a difficult time in North Carolina's and America's history," said Elizabeth Kiss, director of the Kenan Institute for Ethics. "Her commitment to building a humane and civil community across divisions of race, class and privilege continues to be an inspiration today."
Born in Tuskegee Institute, Ala., and educated at Talladega College, Spaulding is the widow of Asa T. Spaulding, a prominent advocate for African-American economic development and former president of the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company, one of the premier black-owned financial concerns in the United States.
In addition to her work with Women-in-Action, Spaulding served for 10 years on the Durham County Board of Commissioners and has provided leadership to numerous civic, educational and church organizations, including Lincoln Community Health Center, North Carolina Central Museum of Art, National Council of Negro Women, Governor's Citizens Committee on Schools, North Carolina School of the Arts, North Carolina Museum of Art, Child Advocacy of Durham and Durham Day Care Council. She also has been an active member of White Rock Baptist Church for 50 years.
Spaulding has received numerous honors and awards, including Durham's "Keeper of the Dream" award, the Durham Merchants Association Mother of the Year award, the George Washington Honor Medal of the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge, Pa., and Distinguished Women of North Carolina award. She is also the namesake of an annual Durham award recognizing community achievement.
In 1992, Spaulding was awarded an honorary doctorate by Duke.