Press Release

Honoring 2015 Óscar Romero Award Recipients

October 04, 2015

HOUSTON – Oct. 4, 2015 – Join the Rothko Chapel for the 2015 Óscar Romero Award Ceremony and Celebration.

The event honors two leaders -- Miriam Miranda and Berta Cáceres  -- who both share the spirit of the late Archbishop Óscar Romero of San Salvador, who worked tirelessly to fight against poverty and social injustice.

The celebration is slated for 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 12 at the Rothko Chapel, 3900 Yupon.

Plans for the evening include a keynote address by award-winning journalist Anne Nelson and remarks from both remarkable women. Following the ceremony, a reception on the plaza will feature Garifuna music and Honduran food.

Miranda serves as executive director of Organización Fraternal Negra Hondureña, a group that works to protect the land, cultural and civil rights of 47 indigenous Garifuna communities.

Cáceres serves as general coordinator of Consejo Civil de Organizaciones Populares e Indígenas de Honduras. For the last 20 years, she has worked in defense of the rights of campesino (peasant farmers) and indigenous Lenca descendant communities.

Nelson is a professor at Columbia University in the School of International and Public Affairs and author in the fields of international affairs, media and human rights. 

As a former war correspondent, she covered conflicts in El Salvador and Guatemala and won the Livingston Award for best international reporting from the Philippines. 

Her 2009 book "Red Orchestra" describes the way media was used for both propaganda and resistance in Nazi Germany, and was published to wide acclaim in the U.S. and Germany.  She also wrote both the play and the screenplay for "The Guys," based on her experiences after the September 11th attacks, and "Savages," a play about the moral issues of military occupation and counter-insurgency warfare.   

Nelson is a graduate of Yale University, a 2005 Guggenheim fellow, and a member of the New York Institute for the Humanities and the Council on Foreign Relations.

The Rothko Chapel began honoring the Archbishop’s legacy in 1986, when the non-profit’s founder Dominique de Menil announced that the Óscar Romero Award would go to individuals or organizations who demonstrate heroic efforts in the area of human rights. 

“This is the perfect opportunity to meet two remarkable women who have dedicated their lives to worthy causes,” David A. Leslie, executive director of the Rothko Chapel, said. “Their courage is inspiring, and we hope the community joins us to see courage up close.”

To register to michelle.ashton@rothkochapel.org.

For more information about the Rothko Chapel and the full calendar of upcoming programs, workshops and events, visit rothkochapel.org or call 713-524-9839.
 

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About the Rothko Chapel

The Rothko Chapel is open to the public every day of the year at no charge and successfully interconnects art, spirituality and compassionate action through a broad array of free public programs. Founded by Houston philanthropists Dominique and John de Menil, the Chapel was dedicated in 1971 as an intimate sanctuary. Today it stands as a monument to art, spirituality and human rights. As an independent non-profit, non-governmental organization, the Chapel depends on contributions from foundations and individuals to support its mission of creating a space for contemplation and dialogue on important issues.

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