Youth Award goes to Hilo student activist

The American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii’s (“ACLU”) Guardians of Liberty and Justice Youth Award will be presented to Micah Inoue, a Hilo-based student activist working for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (“LGBT”) persons.

ACLU Youth Affairs Committee Chair Esther Solomon said: “Micah has made a tremendous impact on his community through his work with the University of Hawaii at Hilo student group Pride Hilo, as a student voice in University of Hawaii system-wide governance discussions on diversity, and as an individual who sees opposition and ignorance as opportunities to educate while encouraging others. We are honored to present him with this award meant to recognize and celebrate the upcoming generation of civil libertarians, and we are especially happy to have keynote speaker Anthony Romero on hand to present the award.”

The Youth Award, founded and sustained by retired educator Dr. Leslie Wilbur, comes with a $1000.00 cash prize and a 2-year ACLU membership.

The Youth Award will be presented to Micah Inoue at the ACLU’s upcoming 45th anniversary Grassroots Celebration, alongside previously announced honorees:

• Edmund Burke, a Honolulu attorney, will be presented with the Saunders Award – the ACLU of Hawaii’s highest honor – for his ongoing, uncompensated work representing a Guantánamo detainee held without charge in America’s most infamous prison.

• Alston Hunt Floyd and Ing, a Hawaii-based law firm, will be presented with the Harriet Bouslog Award for legal advocacy in groundbreaking constitutional cases in Hawaii.

• Mele Stokesberry and Chuck Carletta, Maui volunteers, will be honored for their grassroots activism on the Valley Isle.

The celebration happens Saturday, February 20. In the Blaisdell Center Galleria (777 Ward Ave. Honolulu), a free, public Freedom Fair will showcase organizations who support the Bill of Rights, alongside festive entertainment (10:00 a.m. to noon). In the Blaisdell Center’s Hawaii Suites adjoining the Galleria, the $45 Grassroots Celebration Luncheon will include awards ceremony and keynote address by Anthony Romero, national ACLU executive director (noon to 2:00 p.m.).

RSVP by 2/10/10. For more information and for tickets visit http://www.acluhawaii.org/45

The mission of the ACLU of Hawaii is to protect the fundamental freedoms enshrined in the U.S. and State Constitutions. The ACLU of Hawaii fulfills this through legislative, litigation, and public education programs statewide. The ACLU of Hawaii is a non-partisan and private nonprofit organization that provides its services at no cost to the public and does not accept government funds. The ACLU of Hawaii has been serving Hawaii since 1965.