Freedom Awards 20th Anniversary Celebration

GMP Producer, Bert Hensley, was honored to produce the Freedom Awards in Memphis, Tenn. 2011 marks the 20th anniversary of the National Civil Rights Museum. In commemoration of this milestone, the museum honored twelve recipients with 2011 Freedom Awards: Danny Glover, Susan L. Taylor, Cicely Tyson, Kirk Whalum, Marva Collins, Hill Harper, Dr. Bill Frist, NAACP, Southern Poverty Law Center, Usher Raymond IV, Bill Russell, and Alonzo Mourning.

In addition to the recipients of the Freedom Awards, the museum honored seven icons of the civil rights movement which included Leola Brown Montgomery, Delores Huerta, Rev. Ed King, Rev. Samuel Kyles, Rev. James Lawson, John Seigenthaler, and Rev. C.T. Vivian.

With special musical guests James Ingram, Wendy Moten, and Kirk Whalum the Awards played to a sold out crowd at the Cannon Center. The special will air on PBS in 2012.

James Ingram performs.

New for the awards this year was a GMP recreation of the familiar Lorraine Motel sign which still stands in front of the Memphis motel where Martin Luther King was shot. The prop sign was used as the focal point of the show’s set. GMP scenic was responsible for the remainder of the set, as well as audio, lighting, recording, staging, and directing of the prestigious event.