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Home
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Events & Awards
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Profile in Courage Award
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Award Recipients
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Hilda Solis (2000)
Hilda Solis
Carl Elliott, Sr. (1990)
Charles Weltner (1991)
Lowell Weicker, Jr. (1992)
James Florio (1993)
Henry Gonzalez (1994)
Michael Synar (1995)
Corkin Cherubini (1996)
Charles Price (1997)
Nickolas Murnion (1998)
Peacemakers of Northern Ireland (1998)
Russell Feingold (1999)
John McCain (1999)
Hilda Solis (2000)
Gerald Ford (2001)
John Lewis (2001)
Kofi Annan (2002)
Dean Koldenhoven (2002)
Public Servants of September 11 (2002)
Roy Barnes (2003)
David Beasley (2003)
Dan Ponder, Jr. (2003)
Paul Muegge (2004)
Sima Samar (2004)
Cindy Watson (2004)
Joseph Darby (2005)
Shirley Franklin (2005)
Bill Ratliff (2005)
Viktor Yushchenko (2005)
Alberto Mora (2006)
John Murtha (2006)
Doris Voitier (2007)
Bill White (2007)
Debra Bowen (2008)
Jennifer Brunner (2008)
William Winter (2008)
Edward M. Kennedy (2009)
Sheila Bair (2009)
Brooksley Born (2009)
Leymah Gbowee and the Women of Liberia (2009)
Karen Bass, David Cogdill, Darrell Steinberg and Michael Villines (2010)
Elizabeth Redenbaugh (2011)
Wael Ghonim and the People of Egypt (2011)
David Baker, Michael Streit, Marsha Ternus (2012)
Robert Ford (2012)
Background
Award Announcement
Acceptance Speech
Remarks by Senator Edward M. Kennedy
Background
California State Senator Hilda Solis overcame the strong opposition of a former governor and the California business community to win environmental protections for minority communities.
Arguing that polluting projects were disproportionately located near minority and low-income neighborhoods, Solis successfully marshaled support for her environmental justice bill. Defined as “the fair treatment of all races, cultures, and incomes with respect to the development, adoption, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws,” the first of its kind legislation won passage and was signed into law by Governor Gray Davis in October 1999.
Senator Solis was the first woman to receive the Profile in Courage Award and the first Latina ever elected to the California State Senate. Solis went on to serve in the United States House of Representatives, and now serves as Secretary of Labor in the Obama Administration.