Two community activists who work hard to improve the lives of others are being recognized as winners of the 34th annual Pauli Murray Awards. Donna Carrington (Adult) and Nevaeh Hodge (youth) will be recognized at 3 p.m. Feb. 25 during a special ceremony at the Whitted Building (300 West Tryon Street, Hillsborough). The event is free and will feature a keynote address from state Sen. Sen. Natalie Murdock of Durham County.
Established in 1990, the Pauli Murray Award commemorates the life of the late Reverend Dr. Pauli Murray (1910-1985), a distinguished and remarkable person who confronted discrimination, racism, and sexism in her own life. The Pauli Murray Award is presented annually by the Orange County Human Relations Commission to an Orange County youth and adult who have served the community with distinction in the pursuit of equality, justice, and human rights for all residents.
Donna Carrington is Executive Director of the Community Empowerment Fund, an organization that combines person-centered support with financial services that pursue equity to reduce the racial wealth gap. Donna first came to CEF in 2013 as a single mom experiencing homelessness herself. She was hired as a part-time Savings Assistant in 2014 and later served as the Housing Specialist and Member Services Coordinator before taking the helm as ED in 2020.
Her first year in this role included shepherding CEF through the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrating creativity through a crisis as CEF forged ahead to assist community members navigating extreme financial and housing stressors.
Her leadership has transformed the organization to center racial equity in all that it does, including viewing lived experience as an invaluable asset in CEF’s one-on-one support services, systems change advocacy and organizational vision.
A former board member of the National Alliance on Mental Illness’s Orange County chapter, she was awarded the Duke Chapel Humanitarian Service Award, which recognizes individuals who have demonstrated both a long-term commitment to serving others and a lifestyle marked by simplicity.
She was nominated by Jess MacDonald.
Hodge (pictured at left) is a senior at Carrboro High School, where she has served on the junior and senior equity councils, and she currently serves as Treasurer of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro NAACP Youth Council.
Under her leadership, the Council has grown and been engaged in local health advocacy, voter registration, school policy change, and BLM movement protests. The Council has demonstrated the power of youth voices by collaborating with local agencies to create change.
Nevaeh has represented the local youth council at the NAACP National Convention and traveled to Alabama to receive training on Get Out The Vote. For the last three years, she has served as a Superintendent's Equity & Empathy Ambassador for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools. In this role, she meets with CHCCS Superintendent Dr. Nyah Hamlett and her peers to discuss issues, concerns, and challenges and recommend solutions.
Nevaeh maintains a 4.3 GPA and has been accepted to attend North Carolina A&T University in the fall. She is a member of the National Honor Society and serves as Co-President of the Black and Brown Student Union at Carrboro High School.
She was nominated by Lori Clark.
Dylan Tam Huang, an eighth-grade student at Guy B. Phillips Middle School, is the winner of this year’s student essay contest sponsored by the Orange County Office of Equity and Inclusion. He will read his essay, “Pauli Murray, Civil Rights Activist: What She Would Think About Equality in Today’s Society.”
Sen. Natalie Murdock will be the keynote speaker. A native North Carolinian, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill alum and local elected official, Natalie has spent a lifetime learning about the strengths and challenges of North Carolina. She represents District 20, encompassing Durham and Chatham County, in the N.C. General Assembly.
She serves as the South Region Coordinator for NOBEL Women and on the executive board for the North Carolina Legislative Black Caucus. Most recently, she was awarded the Environmental Activism award by the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators and the Susan B Anthony award from the NC ERA Alliance.
Entertainment will be provided by I Am Soteria, a performer/activist who combines the power of poetry and music to combat hate, bias and injustice.