For 40 years, Kerry Kennedy has worked on the frontlines of human rights protection around the world. For her commitment and impact, the University of Dayton Human Rights Center will honor Kennedy with its Oscar Romero Human Rights Award.

"Kerry Kennedy's leadership in the global human rights movement is genuine, thorough and impactful. Her long-standing solidarity with human rights defenders, like those that embody Saint Oscar Romero's legacy, fully expresses our Catholic mission and Marianist values; and makes her a deserving recipient of the Romero Award," University of Dayton Human Rights Center Executive Director Natalie Hudson said about Kennedy, the seventh of Ethel and U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy's 11 children and president of the non-profit Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights. 

Kennedy will receive the award in a ceremony at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, April 24, in the Roger Glass Center for the Arts.

"The University of Dayton Romero Human Rights Award is a powerful tribute to Saint Oscar Romero's unwavering courage and sacrifice in the fight for justice. His fearless advocacy for the poor and disenfranchised continues to inspire us all to challenge oppression, amplify marginalized voices and uphold the dignity of every human being," said Kennedy, author of The New York Times best seller Being Catholic Now, as well as Speak Truth to Power and Robert F. Kennedy: Ripples of Hope. "This recognition is a personal honor and a reminder that the pursuit of human rights demands boldness, compassion and an unshakable commitment to justice for all."

Created in 2000, the University of Dayton Romero Human Rights Award is presented to an individual or organization promoting the dignity of all human beings and alleviating human suffering. It honors the ministry and martyrdom of Saint Oscar Romero, a Salvadoran archbishop slain while officiating at a Mass because of his vocal defense of the human rights of the poor and disenfranchised. Click here to see a list of honorees.

Kennedy's ties to the University and Saint Romero date back nearly four decades.

She began her human rights career as an intern with Amnesty International in El Salvador in 1981 the year after Romero's assassination. In 2002, Kennedy was part of the University's Distinguished Speaker Series discussing Speak Truth to Power, her book chronicling the lives and struggles of 51 human rights defenders from 41 countries. More recently, the Human Rights Center has partnered with Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights on national and international human rights advocacy projects. 

United by a commitment to realize her father's dream of a more just and peaceful world, Kennedy and her team of human rights attorneys, experts and advocates work on issues including civic space protection, reducing the scope and power of mass incarceration, advancing the rights and dignity of workers, and training the next generation of human rights defenders through human rights education.

Kennedy has received honors from President Lech Walesa of Poland for aiding the Solidarity movement; the humanitarian award from the congress of Nobel Peace Prize laureates; and honorary doctorates of law from Le Moyne College and the University of San Francisco School of Law.

She has served on the boards of the United States Institute of Peace and Human Rights First; and the advisory committees for the Association of American Indian Affairs, the Albert Schweitzer Institute and the Center for Victims of Torture.

Read more about Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights here.

Following the event to honor Kennedy, the Human Rights Center will host an opening reception for the new exhibit by the Moral Courage Project, an experiential-learning program that prepares students to conduct immersive fieldwork at sites of human rights crises in the United States. The new project, "At the Root: Policing and the Right to Protest," centers on the Stop Cop City movement, which formed to challenge a proposal to clear-cut a forest outside of Atlanta, Georgia, to build a police training facility. The exhibit will include photo essays with testimonials from activists in the Stop Cop City movement and a companion podcast, "Moral Courage Radio." 

Past work has brought students to Ferguson, Missouri, to focus on police violence; El Paso, Texas, to focus on immigration; Flint, Michigan, to focus on water access; and Oakland, California, to focus on adequate housing. 

For more information or interviews, contact Shawn Robinson, University of Dayton associate director of news and communication, at srobinson1@udayton.edu.

For more information or interviews, contact Shawn Robinson, University of Dayton associate director of news and communication, at srobinson1@udayton.edu.