Spingarn Medal

The Spingarn Medal is awarded annually by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) for outstanding achievement by an African American.

The award, which consists of a gold medal, was created by Joel Elias Spingarn, Chairman of the Board of the NAACP in 1914. It was first awarded to biologist Ernest E. Just in 1915, and has been given each year thereafter, with the exception of 1938.

Well-known recipients of the award include: W. E. B. Du Bois, Colonel Charles Young, George Washington Carver, Marian Anderson, Paul Robeson, Thurgood Marshall, Jackie Robinson, Martin Luther King, Jr., Langston Hughes, Sammy Davis, Jr., Alex Haley, Andrew Young, Rosa Parks, Coleman Young, Lena Horne, Bill Cosby, Jr., Jesse Jackson, Colin Powell, Earl Graves & Maya Angelou.

Complete List of Winners of the Medal

1914

External links

Leaders
Presidents/CEOs
(executive secretaries 1910–77;
executive directors 1977–96)

Frances Blascoer (1910–11) · Mary White Ovington (1911–12) · Mary Childs Nerney (1912–16) · Mary White Ovington (1916) · Royall Freeman Nash (1916–17) · James Weldon Johnson (1917–18) · John R. Shillady (1918–20) · James Weldon Johnson (1920–31) · Walter Francis White (1931–55) · Roy Wilkins (1955–77) · Benjamin Hooks (1977–92) · Benjamin Chavis Muhammad (1993–94) · Earl Shinhoster (1994–96) · Kweisi Mfume (1996–2004) · Dennis Courtland Hayes (2005) · Bruce S. Gordon (2005–7) · Dennis Courtland Hayes (2007–8) · Benjamin Jealous (2007–present)

Elected presidents
(1909–96, abolished)
Moorfield Storey (1909–29) · Joel Elias Spingarn (1930–39) · Arthur B. Spingarn (1940–65) · Kivie Kaplan (1966–75) · William Montague Cobb (1976–82) · James Kemp (1983) · Enolia McMillan (1984–90) · Hazel N. Dukes (1990–92) · Rupert Richardson (1992–96)
Chairpersons
William English Walling (1910–11) · Oswald Garrison Villard (1911–14) · Joel Elias Spingarn (1914–19) · Mary White Ovington (1919–34) · Louis T. Wright (1934–53) · Channing Heggie Tobias (1953–60) · Robert C. Weaver (1960–61) · Stephen Gill Spottswood (1961–75) · Margaret Bush Wilson (1975–83) · Kelly Alexander (1983–84) · William Gibson (1985–95) · Myrlie Evers-Williams (1995–98) · Julian Bond (1998–2010) · Roslyn Brock (2010–present)
See also