Tobacco-Free Kids Congratulates Dr. Hazel Dukes on Being Awarded the NAACP Spingarn Medal
Statement of Yolonda C. Richardson, President & CEO, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids congratulates Dr. Hazel Dukes on being awarded the NAACP Spingarn Medal in recognition of her years of transformative advocacy and brave leadership. Currently President of the New York State Conference of the NAACP, Dr. Dukes is being honored Tuesday evening at the NAACP’s National Convention in Boston.
In presenting Dr. Dukes with their highest distinction, the NAACP is honoring an extraordinary civil rights leader who, as the NAACP stated, “has improved the lives of countless Black Americans and New Yorkers, while bringing about lasting change that will be felt in the Black community for generations to come.” Among her many accomplishments, Dr. Dukes has stood up to Big Tobacco and fought to reduce tobacco use, which remains the nation’s number one cause of preventable death and a major contributor to health disparities. We are enormously grateful for her courageous advocacy and leadership over so many years, including her ongoing efforts to end the sale of menthol cigarettes – products the tobacco industry has targeted at Black communities for decades with devastating health consequences.
Learn more about Dr. Dukes and the Spingarn Medal from the NAACP’s press release.