Ford Honors Over A Dozen Unsung Heroes For Their Work In Chicago’s African American Communities

Ford Motor Company recently honored over a dozen Chicago activists for their work in the cities African American communities. Photo Credit: Katherine Newman
Ford Motor Company recently honored over a dozen Chicago activists for their work in the cities African American communities. Photo Credit: Katherine Newman

Ford Honors Over A Dozen Unsung Heroes For Their Work In Chicago’s African American Communities

BY KATHERINE NEWMAN

Ford Motor Company recently hosted the Freedom Unsung Awards at the South Shore Cultural Center, 7059 S. South Shore Dr., to honor Chicago activist that have made significant contributions to the African American communities across the city.

“Ford has always honored people for their legacy and we have honored a lot of very famous people. We had an exhibit on the women of the Civil Rights Movement that toured the country for four years and we realized as we did that and as we do other programs that there are so many heroes in the community that never ask for anything and are just doing what they are doing,” said Pamela Alexander, director of community development for the Ford Motor Company Fund.

The Freedom Unsung Awards were made possible through a grant from the Ford Motor Company Fund which is the philanthropic arm of Ford Motor Company. The award recipients were all nominated by other Chicagoans for their dedication to serving and uplifting the African American community in Chicago. The Freedom Unsung Awards were created specifically to highlight community leaders that are not frequently recognized for the work that they do.

After making previous stops in Anchorage, Atlanta, and even in Houston where they held a special Unsung Heroes of Hurricane Harvey, Ford decided to come to Chicago to honor our communities Unsung Heroes.

“We were talking about cities that we definitely wanted to go to and you hear so much about Chicago in the news, some of it negative, but anyone who spends any time here knows there is an amazing community here and there are a lot of people doing great things here and there are a lot of really wonderful things about Chicago. What we wanted to do was come to Chicago and highlight some of the individuals and let the community know that Ford believes in the community and that we know there are amazing things happening here,” said Alexander.

One local honoree, Dr. Paul Phillips, is the founder of the Better Man Than Me Foundation which is a nonprofit dedicated to providing young men with the day-to-day skills needed to become successful adults. Dr. Phillips has been doing community work since the age of 12 and has been mentoring young people in Chicago for over 30 years.

For these many reasons, he was selected as one of Ford’s Freedom Unsung Heroes. “I am honored and humbled. What I do I don’t do for recognition but it’s always good to be recognized for my efforts. I’m really honored to be here and not just because it’s me but because I’m also able to rub elbows with other people that are doing good work in the community so I’m in good company,” said Phillips.

Many more local activists received Freedom Unsung Awards including Lynana Funches from Think Outside Da Block and Asiaha Butler from the Resident Association of Greater Englewood.

To learn more about the Freedom Unsung Awards visits fgb.life.

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