On February 18, ADL presented its 2010 Civil Rights Awards to Artie Guerrero and Vincent Harding, at a reception attended by over 200 people.  Governor Bill Ritter, Jr., last year’s Civil Rights Award recipient, spoke at the event.

Guerrero is an activist for people with disabilities, who has worked tirelessly to insure accessibility, acceptance and opportunities for people in wheelchairs.  He has served as an advisor to civic accessibility projects including RTD, Jefferson County Government, Coors Field and Invesco Field at Mile High, and he helped to establish many athletic programs including the Colorado Avalanche Sled Hockey Team, the Colorado Rockies Wheelchair Softball Program, and the Colorado Junior Wheelchair Sports Camp.

Harding, Professor Emeritus at the Iliff School of Theology, is a historian and activist for social justice.  He was active in the black-led freedom movement in the 1960’s, and since then has worked to preserve and tell the stories of that struggle.  He has written books about the movement and its leaders, and was senior advisor to the PBS documentary series “Eyes on the Prize.”  He founded the Veterans of Hope project, which videotapes interviews with people who have fought to expand democracy in the United States and in other countries.

Guerrero and Harding join over forty outstanding Colorado leaders who have received ADL’s Civil Rights Awards since 1982.