Rep. Maxine Waters to Receive Chairman’s Award at the 2019 NAACP Image Awards
Rep. Maxine Waters to Receive Chairman's Award at the 2019 NAACP Image Awards
WASHINGTON – On Saturday, March 30, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (CA-43) will receive the 2019 NAACP Chairman's Award – a highly coveted award that is "bestowed in recognition of individuals who demonstrate exemplary public service and use their distinct platforms to create agents of change." The award will be presented to Congresswoman Waters during the 50th NAACP Image Awards, which will air live at 9pm ET/6pm PT on TV One.
"I am so honored to have been selected as the 2019 Chairman's Award recipient at the 50th NAACP Image Awards," said Congresswoman Maxine Waters. "The Image Awards continues to be one of the most preeminent celebrations of African American culture and achievement. I cannot overstate my gratitude to the NAACP for this recognition, and I look forward to celebrating the outstanding achievements of all of those who are using their God given talents, creativity, and life's work to make a difference in their communities, our country, and the world."
"I am honored to present the Chairman's Award to Congresswoman Waters, considered to be one of the most powerful women in American politics today and an inspiration to many," said Leon W. Russell, Chairman of the NAACP National Board of Directors. "Her 43 years of public service, first in the California State Assembly and then in the U.S. House of Representatives, have benefited countless Americans. As both a queen and a warrior, Congresswoman Waters has stood the test of time in her refusal to stand idle in the face of the relentless assaults on the humanity of African Americans and people of color. We salute her and her amazing legacy."
Congresswoman Maxine Waters has emerged as one of the strongest legislators, community organizers, and champions for women, children, seniors, veterans, people of color, and the poor. She was elected in November 2018 to her fifteenth term in the U.S. House of Representatives where she proudly represents California's diverse and dynamic 43rd Congressional District.
With more than 20 years of experience and expertise on financial services issues, Congresswoman Waters recently made history as the first woman and first African American to hold the Chair's gavel of the House Financial Services Committee. As Chairwoman, she is leading the Democratic Caucus' efforts to pass meaningful legislation that prioritizes protecting consumers and investors from abusive financial practices, ensures there are strong safeguards in place to prevent another financial crisis, expands and supports affordable housing opportunities, tackles the homelessness crisis, encourages responsible innovation in financial technology, promotes diversity and inclusion in the financial services sector, conducts appropriate oversight, and ensures that hardworking Americans and small businesses have fair access to the financial system and opportunities to thrive.
Throughout her esteemed career in public service, Congresswoman Waters has demonstrated a fierce and unwavering commitment to justice, equality, and fairness. Whether she was leading the United States effort to end apartheid as the Los Angeles Chair of the Free South Africa Movement, spearheading the development of the Minority AIDS Initiative to address the alarming spread of HIV/AIDS among communities of color, or fighting to protect homeowners and consumers from the predatory practices and recklessness of Wall Street in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis – Congresswoman Waters' unmatched public policy acumen has produced cutting-edge legislative solutions to some of the most complex and controversial issues in the United States and around the world.
Prior to her election to the U.S. Congress, Congresswoman Waters served a 14-year tenure in the California State Assembly, where she rose to the powerful position of Democratic Caucus Chair, and passed bold legislation to divest California's pension funds from the apartheid government of South Africa; create the first plant closure law in the United States; prohibit police strip-searches for nonviolent misdemeanors; force insurance companies to cover prosthetic devices for women undergoing mastectomies; institute the nation's first statewide child abuse prevention training program; and curtail for-profit colleges' ability to rip off California students.
Congresswoman Waters is an inspiration and icon to millennials, women, and progressives across the country who have adopted her as "Auntie Maxine" because of her fearlessness, authenticity, and no-nonsense truth telling. She will now join the ranks of other elected officials, entertainers, and activists who have received the prestigious NAACP Chairman's Award, including Tyler Perry, Ruby Dee, Danny Glover, Former Vice President Al Gore, then-Senator Barack Obama, and TV One Founder and Chair Cathy Hughes.
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