For Immediate Release: April 24, 1997
Further information: Tom McNaught (617) 514-1662
Charles Price, Circuit Court Judge of Montgomery, Alabama, was announced the winner of the 1997 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award today by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.
The John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award, described by a former recipient as the "Nobel in Government," is presented annually to a public official who has withstood strong opposition from constituents and powerful interest groups to follow what they believe is the right course of action.
Price, who was reelected to office in 1996, was singled out for the political courage he demonstrated by ruling that fellow Circuit Court Judge Roy Moore must remove or modify his courtroom display of the Ten Commandments, so as not to violate the First Amendment.
A rally attended by approximately 15,000 people was held in Montgomery on April 13 to show support for Judge Moore. So unpopular was Judge Price’s order, that Alabama Governor Fob James threatened to call out the National Guard, if needed, to keep the order from being carried out. The case has been appealed to the State Supreme Court.
The award, which is accompanied by a $25,000 stipend, will be presented to Price by members of President Kennedy’s family at a May 29 ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum marking the 80th anniversary of President Kennedy’s birth.
"Judge Charles Price demonstrated both integrity and courage in his ruling to support our nation’s historical separation of church and state,"said Caroline Kennedy, President of the Kennedy Library Foundation. "Though he has been vilified by many of his constituents as being anti-religion, Judge Price has in fact made a heroic stance to defend our country’s proud history of religious tolerance and diversity. The John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award recognizes people who act with courage in a life dedicated to public service and it celebrate’s my father’s belief that a tough political decision based on a moral choice is an opportunity for leadership.
"I believe it is important that we celebrate and acknowledge political integrity and courage, if only to offset the cynicism surrounding those holding public office," Kennedy continued. "It is too easy to criticize public officials, to dismiss their profession, to diminish their contributions, to question their motives. Democracy faces enough challenges without saddling it with doubt and cynicism. Rather than teach young Americans to ridicule the men and women who actively participate in politics, we should offer them examples of excellence and courage. Judge Charles Price is such an example."
Individuals at all levels of government -- federal, state and local -- are eligible for the award. Emphasis is placed on contemporary political acts of courage, rather than examples from the distant past. In addition, priority is given to specific acts of political courage, rather than honoring officials for generally courageous careers.
The Profile in Courage Award, was created by the Kennedy Library Foundation in 1989 to honor President Kennedy’s memory by celebrating that which he admired most.
"John F. Kennedy felt his greatest admiration for those in politics who had the courage to defy the extraordinary pressures of special interests and to make decisions of conscience without fear of consequences.," said Charles U. Daly, Executive Director of the Kennedy Library Foundation. "The Profile in Courage Award seeks to inspire other politicians by recognizing and honoring those public servants who have demonstrated this kind of integrity."
In 1995, Etowah Circuit Judge Roy Moore was sued by the American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama on behalf of two Etowah County residents for holding prayer in the courtroom and for displaying the Ten Commandments behind his bench.
The original ACLU lawsuit was dismissed. But the State of Alabama filed suit against Judge Moore, the ACLU and the American Freethought Association in an effort to get a state judge to rule whether or not Judge Moore’s actions were unconstitutional.
Judge Price ruled in November 1996 that although prayer in the courtroom is unconstitutional, Judge Moore’s display of the Ten Commandments could remain. After visiting the courtroom in February 1997, however, Judge Price reversed his ruling and ordered Judge Moore to put the Ten Commandments in a more historical context. Judge Moore responded to the ruling by saying, "I will not surround the Ten Commandments with other items to secularize them. That’s putting man above God."
In 1983, Judge Price became the state’s first African-American circuit judge when he was appointed to fill a vacancy. He won election to his first six-year term in 1984, and was re-elected in 1990 and 1996. Price, 56, is married to Bernice B. Price, an Assistant Professor of Humanities at Alabama State University. They have two children.
The Profile in Courage Award is named for President Kennedy’s 1957 Pulitzer prize-winning book, Profiles in Courage which recounts the stories of eight U.S. Senators who risked their careers and often their reputations to fight for what they believed in. The award is presented annually, on or near May 29, in celebration of the anniversary of President Kennedy’s birthday.
The Kennedy Library Foundation began its annual, nationwide search for political courage in the Fall of 1996. To help the Foundation’s nominating committee find the best candidate, more than 100 distinguished journalists and opinion makers who cover politics were solicited for the names of individuals who took principled and sometimes unpopular stands on difficult issues. Ads calling for nominations were placed in George and Governing magazines and more than 1,000 nomination forms were distributed throughout the country. The nominations were reviewed by the Foundation’s Profile in Courage Award staff and the 14-member nominating committee.
The Chairman of the 1997 Profile in Courage Award Committee is John Seigenthaler, Chairman of the Freedom Forum at the First Amendment Center, Vanderbilt University. Other members of the committee are: David Burke, former executive vice president of ABC News and president of CBS News; William F. Connell, chairman, Connell Limited Partnership; Diddy Cullinane, civic and cultural community leader; Antonia Hernandez, president and general counsel, Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund; Elaine Jones, director and counsel, NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund; Edward M. Kennedy, U.S. Senator from Massachusetts; Caroline Kennedy, author, attorney, and president of the Kennedy Library Foundation; John F. Kennedy, Jr., editor, attorney and vice chairman of the Kennedy Library Foundation; Angela Menino, program assistant, John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company; Sherry H. Penney, Chancellor, University of Massachusetts at Boston; Mary Reed, vice president of human services, Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries, Inc.; Theodore Sorensen, author, attorney and former special counsel to President Kennedy; and William vanden Heuvel, attorney, investment banker, and former special assistant to Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy.
Past winners of the award are: former U.S. Congressman Carl Elliott, Sr. of Alabama; former U.S. Congressman Charles L. Weltner of Georgia; former Governor of Connecticut Lowell Weicker; former Governor of New Jersey James J. Florio; U.S. Congressman Henry B. Gonzalez of Texas; former U.S. Congressman Michael L. Synar of Oklahoma; and Calhoun County, Georgia School Superintendent Corkin F. Cherubini, Ed.D.
The $25,000 award is accompanied by a silver lantern representing a beacon of hope. The lantern was designed by Edwin Schlossberg, Inc., and crafted by Tiffany & Co.
The John F. Kennedy Library and Museum is a presidential library administered by the National Archives and Records Administration and supported, in part, by the Kennedy Library Foundation, a non-profit organization. The Kennedy Library and the Kennedy Library Foundation seek to promote, through educational and community programs, a greater appreciation and understanding of American politics, history, and culture, the process of governing and the importance of public service.