Dr. Benjamin L. Hooks

A Life Dedicated to Promoting Social Change On November 5, 2007, Dr. Benjamin Lawson Hooks was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the nation’s highest civil award. “The nation best remembers Benjamin Hooks as the leader of the NAACP,” said President George Bush. “For 15 years, Dr. Hooks was a calm yet forceful voice for fairness, opportunity, and personal responsibility. He never tired or faltered in demanding that our nation live up to ...