ACLU of Colorado to Honor Senator Mark Udall and Nita Gonzales as 2015 Civil Rights Award Recipients

DENVER – The ACLU of Colorado is pleased to announce that Senator Mark Udall and civil rights activist Nita Gonzales have been selected to receive our 2015 Civil Rights Awards, which will be presented at the annual Carle Whitehead Bill of Rights Dinner on Thursday, October 8th at the Four Seasons Hotel in Denver.
Senator Udall will receive the Carle Whitehead Memorial Award in recognition of his accomplishments as a legislator in advancing and defending civil rights and civil liberties.
Nita Gonzales will receive the Ralph Carr Award recognizing her leadership and dedication in the struggle for social justice and racial equality.
Udall represented Colorado in the U.S. Congress for 16 years, including as a Member of the Senate from 2009 through 2015, where he was a staunch defender of the Bill of Rights and the civil liberties of all Americans. He led the bipartisan effort to rein in the National Security Administration’s dragnet collection of personal information and data, and he was one of the leading advocates for the public release of the Senate Intelligence Committee’s study on the CIA’s brutal and ineffective detention and interrogation program.
“While others around him worked to increase surveillance and government intrusion, Senator Mark Udall led in Congress from a fundamental belief that Americans should never be asked to sacrifice their basic freedoms in the name of security,” said ACLU of Colorado Executive Director Nathan Woodliff-Stanley. “We are extremely proud to honor Senator Udall as one of our country’s most ardent protectors of individual freedom and liberty.”
Gonzales is a nationally-recognized leader, educator, and community activist. She is President and CEO of Escuela Tlatelolco Centro de Estudios, an internationally-renowned model for Chicano/Mexicano and indigenous education located in Denver. Escuela Tlatelolco provides culturally competent and socially conscious education to predominantly Latino youth. Gonzales also has a long record of supporting causes and organizations that promote the economic, political, social, and educational strength of Latinos and underserved populations in Colorado and throughout the country.
“Countless community activists of all ages have been directly influenced by the dynamic social justice advocacy of Nita Gonzales,” said ACLU of Colorado Public Policy Director Denise Maes. “It is our honor to recognize Nita as an educator and a leader who has dedicated her life to strengthening and empowering her community.”
The Carle Whitehead Bill of Rights Dinner will feature a keynote presentation from Alex Abdo, an ACLU Staff Attorney in the Speech, Privacy and Technology Project who last year argued a successful challenge to the NSA’s phone-records program in Federal Court.
We would like to also announce and thank our Presenting Sponsors Brad Feld and Amy Batchelor and our Circle of Liberty Sponsors Killmer, Lane & Newman, LLP.
For more information about the event, purchasing tickets, or becoming a sponsor, please contact Rachel Pryor-Lease at 720-402-3105 or [email protected].