Sidney Hollander Award
Encyclopedia
The Sidney Hollander Award is an award given by the Sidney Hollander Foundation, Baltimore
, Mary, USA, and named in honour of Sidney Hollander.
, Hollander was an avid believer that all men should be treated equally. African American
s, especially, should be treated with in the same way as any other American. Hollander wanted to create a place to live where everybody would be treated equally.
. This award was given to a person who had worked diligently towards obtaining equal rights
for African Americans in Maryland. Segregation was a huge issue that both African Americans and whites were forced to deal with during this time period. While African Americans had gained many rights, including the right to vote
, they were still treated very unfairly. They were forced to use different entrances to stores, different bathrooms, and many were not given proper job opportunities in fields in which they were well qualified.
However, Sidney Hollander saw this and knew it was wrong. As a result, his family set up an award to give to any person who had helped to erase any signs of segregation in Maryland and help to achieve equal rights for all citizens of the United States. This award was handed out every year for about sixteen years (1947 – around 1964). Many recipients include organizations such as the Sun Paper, the Baltimore City Medical Society, and Loyola College. These organizations all helped to spread the word that African Americans should be treated as equal human beings in Maryland. While several awards went to organizations, there were also a few that went to individuals. These individuals include Robert Freedman, Theodore R. McKeldin
and Thomas J. S. Waxter. These men were very important men in Maryland during this time period and they were all dedicated to desegregation in the state.
In 1964, the foundation realized that the government, religious organizations, and political parties were all dealing with the issue of desegregation in Maryland. Finally the issue of desegregation was seen on a higher level that could hopefully help to get it resolved. The Sidney Hollander Foundation announced that the award given the previous year would be the last. In the approximate sixteen years in which the award was handed out, many important advances were made in ending segregation
in Maryland. Many people believe the Hollander Award was responsible for many of the acts of desegregation
because it helped to show people what was being done in Maryland to help end segregation.
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Mary, USA, and named in honour of Sidney Hollander.
The Sidney Hollander Foundation
In December 1941, a foundation was set up in order to honor Sidney Hollander. Hollander was a very influential humanitarian living in Baltimore, Maryland during the mid-1900s. Being a humanitarianHumanitarianism
In its most general form, humanitarianism is an ethic of kindness, benevolence and sympathy extended universally and impartially to all human beings. Humanitarianism has been an evolving concept historically but universality is a common element in its evolution...
, Hollander was an avid believer that all men should be treated equally. African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
s, especially, should be treated with in the same way as any other American. Hollander wanted to create a place to live where everybody would be treated equally.
The Sidney Hollander Award
The Sidney Hollander Foundation created the Sidney Hollander Award after World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. This award was given to a person who had worked diligently towards obtaining equal rights
Social equality
Social equality is a social state of affairs in which all people within a specific society or isolated group have the same status in a certain respect. At the very least, social equality includes equal rights under the law, such as security, voting rights, freedom of speech and assembly, and the...
for African Americans in Maryland. Segregation was a huge issue that both African Americans and whites were forced to deal with during this time period. While African Americans had gained many rights, including the right to vote
Suffrage
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply the franchise, distinct from mere voting rights, is the civil right to vote gained through the democratic process...
, they were still treated very unfairly. They were forced to use different entrances to stores, different bathrooms, and many were not given proper job opportunities in fields in which they were well qualified.
However, Sidney Hollander saw this and knew it was wrong. As a result, his family set up an award to give to any person who had helped to erase any signs of segregation in Maryland and help to achieve equal rights for all citizens of the United States. This award was handed out every year for about sixteen years (1947 – around 1964). Many recipients include organizations such as the Sun Paper, the Baltimore City Medical Society, and Loyola College. These organizations all helped to spread the word that African Americans should be treated as equal human beings in Maryland. While several awards went to organizations, there were also a few that went to individuals. These individuals include Robert Freedman, Theodore R. McKeldin
Theodore McKeldin
Theodore Roosevelt McKeldin , a member of the United States Republican Party, was the 53rd Governor of Maryland in the United States from 1951 to 1959....
and Thomas J. S. Waxter. These men were very important men in Maryland during this time period and they were all dedicated to desegregation in the state.
In 1964, the foundation realized that the government, religious organizations, and political parties were all dealing with the issue of desegregation in Maryland. Finally the issue of desegregation was seen on a higher level that could hopefully help to get it resolved. The Sidney Hollander Foundation announced that the award given the previous year would be the last. In the approximate sixteen years in which the award was handed out, many important advances were made in ending segregation
Racial segregation in the United States
Racial segregation in the United States, as a general term, included the racial segregation or hypersegregation of facilities, services, and opportunities such as housing, medical care, education, employment, and transportation along racial lines...
in Maryland. Many people believe the Hollander Award was responsible for many of the acts of desegregation
Desegregation
Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups usually referring to races. This is most commonly used in reference to the United States. Desegregation was long a focus of the American Civil Rights Movement, both before and after the United States Supreme Court's decision in...
because it helped to show people what was being done in Maryland to help end segregation.