Times-Union: In railing against Klan and supporting social causes, Jacksonville native honored

In railing against Klan and supporting social causes, Jacksonville native honored

By David Hunt

Stetson Kennedy, a Jacksonville native whose name has become synonymous with human rights, is on the short list for an award from the U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation.

The foundation Tuesday released its list of finalists for the Citizen Service Above Self Honors. The foundation credited Kennedy, 93, a historian who’d years ago infiltrated groups like the Ku Klux Klan, for remaining active in human rights causes while building up a lifetime of achievement. In 2009, he participated in a march to protest physical mistreatment and the economic plight of migrant workers.

The nomination says:

“For more than three quarters of a century, Kennedy has taken part in struggles against war, totalitarianism, peonage, disfranchisement, chain gangs, infant mortality, unattended illness, homelessness, unemployment, and denial of educational opportunity. Kennedy continues to actively stump for freedom. Stetson Kennedy’s lifetime of advocacy on behalf of those who have been denied basic human rights continues to be an inspiration and credit to the state of Florida and to his fellow Americans.”

An awards committee is reviewing the finalists before a ceremony scheduled for March 25.