2021 HPJC Peacemaker Award Honorees – George Floyd Foundation & James Byrd Jr Family
On November 7, the Houston Peace and Justice Center partnered with “My Brother’s Keeper-Houston” for our annual Peace and Justice Awards Program.
We honored the families of George Floyd and James Byrd Jr. this year. George Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis sparked the Black Lives Matter Movement in the U.S. and abroad. James Byrd Jr. was murdered in Jasper, Texas, in 1998. We are honoring his three children who have done wonderful things with their lives since that horrific event years ago.
Read the citations on the awards given.
My Brother’s Keeper is a program started during the Obama Administration to improve the future of youth in our nation. In Houston, the program is administered by the City Health Department.
The mission of the Houston George Floyd Foundation is to create social justice equality and equity opportunities in the areas of social justice education and advocacy, youth services and workforce development.
The program will be a major step forward in Houston becoming the Beloved Community as described by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Special thanks to to Univision Houston for its support to HPJC and their diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
Frances “Sissy” Farenthold, 1926 – 2021
I won’t try to add to the many articles honoring her. You can find excellent articles chronicling her life at websites like, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Texas Monthly. Each do a far better job of detailing the impact Sissy had as she worked tirelessly to make this world a better, more compassionate place, but I do encourage you to read at least one of the numerous on line postings. Her life story is simply amazing.
Personally, I was privileged to meet Sissy late in her life, because she was always willing to help Houston Peace and Justice Center whenever she could, and was perhaps the most gracious hostess I’ve met. She made her mark on Texas history with so many “firsts” as woman, while not succumbing to the many tragedies in her life, all the while being an inspiration to so many women and men who would follow her compassionate heart.
-Constance Gray
Also please see the excellent Houston Chronicle article about Sissy Farenthold.
Join the movement for peace and justice in Houston:
Support Peace Camp Houston, one of HPJC’s major projects:
Donate to Erik James Memorial Scholarship fund for Peace Camp Houston
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