Recipients of the Courage of Conscience Award
The Courage of Conscience Award has been presented to deserving individuals and organizations worldwide for their various peace and humanitarian activism work. On this page, we take pride in giving recognition to these awardees for their noble advocacies. The following are the honorees of the award from 1988 to 2021.
51. Matthew Fox
Environmental theologian, teacher, and author for his inspiring teachings on Creation Spirituality.
52. Sikh Dharma
Sikh Dharma in the Western Hemisphere for the organization’s extraordinary efforts to promote interfaith reconciliation.
53. William Johnston
Police officer and humanitarian for years of community service as a decoy in the Boston Police Department out of a desire to find kinship with the victims of society.
54. Pat Farren
Former Peace Corps volunteer, pacifist, and founding editor of “Peace Work” (the peace and social justice magazine of the American Friends Service Committee) for lifelong service to the causes of peace, social justice, and human rights.
55. Colman McCarthy
Pacifist, journalist, and ethical vegetarian for his nationally syndicated column in the Washington Post.
56. Louise Coleman
Animal rights activist for her pioneering work to save greyhounds from death following their exploitation at racing parks throughout New England.
57. Howard Zinn
Scholar, author, anti-war activist, and leader of the peace movement for giving voice to the victims of oppression and for his revealing book, People’s History of the United States.
58. Ralph Digia
Secular humanist and pacifist for his example as a conscientious objector and for over forty years of dedicated service at the War Resister’s League in New York City.
59. Rose and Bill Abbott
Humanitarians, farmers, and co-founders of Food for the Needy for their 25 years of growing acres of vegetables and donating the harvests to the poor in the Worcester/Boston area.
60. Gene and Lorri Bauston
Ethical vegetarians, animal rights activists, humanitarians, and co-founders of Farm Sanctuary for their commitment to saving farm animals and for their leadership as vegan pacifists.
61. Mikhail Gorbachev
Last President of the Soviet Union for his historic role in the evolution of Glasnost – openness in government – and for his leadership in the disarmament negotiations with the United States during the Reagan Administration.
62. Michael Tobias
Humanitarian, scholar, author, film producer, and ethical vegetarian for his dedication to issues of overpopulation, the environment, and ahimsa (dynamic harmlessness).
63. Maha Ghosananda
A Pacifist, ethical vegetarian, author, and supreme patriarch of Cambodian Buddhism for teaching non-violence and establishing Buddhist temples throughout the world that root his exiled people in their religion of peace.
64. Howard Lyman
An ethical vegetarian and fourth generation cattle rancher turned vegan for his leadership in the animal rights movement.
65. Chris DeRose
Former actor, vegan, animal rights activist, and founder of Last Chance for Animals for his commitment to saving animals and exposing animal abuse in entertainment, medical research, and food production.
66. Patch Adams
A physician, professional clown, and socialist for his commitment to providing health care for indigent and uninsured people, free of charge, without malpractice insurance, out of his home for over 25 years.
67. Gurudev Shree Chitrabhanu
A Jain teacher, ethical vegetarian, pacifist, and author for his unprecedented journey to bring the Jain tradition of ahimsa to the Western Hemisphere.
68. Aaron Feuerstein
An industrialist and philanthropist for setting the standard for commitment to employees following a devastating fire at his Malden Mills manufacturing plant.
69. Hugh C. Thompson, Jr.
American soldier and veterans administration counselor for his extraordinary moral courage while stopping the My Lai massacre in Vietnam in 1968 and saving the lives of dozens of civilian Vietnamese.
70. Lawrence Colburn
American soldier for his courage during the 1968 My Lai massacre with comrades Hugh C. Thompson, Jr. and Glen Andreotta in saving the lives of dozens of civilian Vietnamese.
71. Peace Pagoda
An international Japanese Nipponzan Buddhist Order devoted to prayer and service for the Interfaith Pilgrimage of the Middle Passage – Tracing the Journey of Slavery (United States, Caribbean, Brazil, West Africa, and South Africa).
72. Stanley Kunitz
A Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and conscientious objector for his contribution to the liberation of the human spirit through his poetry.
73. Ngawang Choephel
Tibetan scholar for his courage in returning to Tibet to preserve the history and diversity of Tibetan oral tradition in music and dance. Presented in absentia to his mother Sonam Dekyi.
74. Juan Carrero Saralegui
A Spanish activist, conscientious objector, and Gandhian pacifist for his lifelong commitment to non-violence and his work to halt and expose the truth behind the genocide in the Great Lakes Nations of Africa.
75. Yoko Kawashima Watkins
An author for her poignant and eloquent accounting of her courageous struggle against oppression during World War II and her inspiration to young people throughout America and the world.
76. Kathy Kelly
The founder and leader of Voices in the Wilderness for her extraordinary commitment to befriend the Iraqi people and bring to light their great suffering under the immoral UN/US economic sanctions.
77. Jun Yasuda
Buddhist nun, member of the Nipponzan Myohoji Community and Founder of the Grafton Peace Pagoda for living and walking for peace and non-violence, nationally and internationally.
78. Louise Franklin-Rameriz
Feminist, environmentalist, anti-war activist, and leader in the movements for gender equality, social justice, non-violence, and peace for her demonstrated vision, energy, and idealism on the pathway to peacemaking over a period of seven decades.
79. Richard McSorley
Jesuit priest, author, Catholic worker, teacher, pacifist, and Founder and Director of the Center for Peace Studies at Georgetown University for his lifelong commitment to activist Gospel living in the face of adversity.
80. Jim Wallis
Minister and author for his work in advocating for peace and social justice in urban America and for his role as founder of Sojourners Magazine and the Call to Renewal.
81. Elise Boulding
Quaker pacifist, author, professor, and futurist for her lifelong commitment and contributions to peace and justice, envisioning the Peaceable Kingdom as a shared reality.
82. Barbara Sonneborn
Director, writer, and producer of the documentary film “Regret to Inform” for her courage in helping us understand the tragedy of war through sharing her tragic and poignant story and similar stories of other widows of the Vietnam War.
83. Jimmy Tingle
Political satirist, practitioner of non-violence, and activist for peace and social change, whose humor and satire help in combating destructive elements in society
84. Sting and Trudie Styler
Singer/songwriter, documentary film producers for their commitment to the environment through the establishment of the Rainforest Foundation; to human rights in China through the documentary film on Tiananmen Square; and to peace and social justice through the powerful gift of song.
85. Michio and Aveline Kushi
Founders of The Kushi Institute for their extraordinary contribution to diet, health, and world peace and for serving as powerful examples of conscious living.
86. Harvard Living Wage Campaign and the Students Participating in the Living Wage Sit-In at Harvard University
University labor movement collaboration for the clarity of their message, passion of their witness, and courage and commitment in demanding that Harvard pay all its employees a living wage.
87. Michael True
Pacifist, educator, author and lifelong peace activist for his compassionate and compelling leadership in the movement for peace and non-violent social change, and for serving as mentor and beacon of integrity for pacifists throughout America.
88. Michael Patrick Macdonald
Author, community organizer, and peace activist for his courage and committed efforts to stem the tide of inner-city violence through the establishment of the gun-buyback program in Boston.
89. Sr. Jeannette Normandin
Sister of St. Anne, counselor, prison chaplain, and founder of the Ruah House, serving women living with HIV, for the clarity of her vision, her decades of work with prisoners and the poor in the inner city, and for her courageous devotion to the call for women to serve humanity within the Roman Catholic Church as equals in the eyes of Christ.
90. John Robbins
Author, animal rights activist, environmentalist, vegan, and founder of Earth Save, for his extraordinary leadership in the global movement for a plant-base diet that promotes health, cruelty-free living, and a commitment to a diet for a new America.
91. Keydong Thuk-Che-Cho-Ling Nunnery
First Tibetan Buddhist nuns in history to embark on the sacred journey of mandala building, and for their ancient tradition of providing sanctuary for cows and sheep that escape from slaughterhouses near their Kathmandu convent.
92. Eddie Lama
New York City contractor, community organizer, ethical vegan, and animal rights activist for his passionate efforts to educate the general public about the injustice of animal exploitation.
93. Roy Bourgeois
Veteran, priest, and founder of The School of the Americas Watch for his leadership and unrelenting commitment to close down the SOA training base for US-sponsored terrorism in Latin America.
94. Representative Barbara Lee
US Representative from California for her courage to stand alone and vote against the call to war after the tragedy of September 11. In her speech, she said, “let us not become the evil that we deplore”.
95. Michael Lerner and Tikkun Magazine
Rabbi, author, and editor of Tikkun Magazine for his unflinching courage and relentless spiritual optimism for the Middle East and for proclaiming a vision of compassion and love in the darkest of times.
96. Peter and Ilka Shumann and the Bread and Puppet Theatre
Founders of The Bread and Puppet Theater for their commitment to promote social awareness through compelling political and artistic productions that address social and economic injustices.
97. Julia Butterfly Hill
Author, environmentalist, vegan, and social change activist for her extraordinary commitment to saving the Redwood Forest through her Luna Tree-sit, and ongoing efforts to educate, inspire, and further the movement for peace and social justice.
98. Julia Esty and Shelagh Foreman
Anti-war, nuclear freeze, and social justice activists for their unrelenting work against the spread of militarism and a culture of violence. Both women devote their lives to promoting the causes of peace and non-violence and serve as an inspiration to thousands on the pathway of peacemaking.
99. Chris Hedges
War correspondent, New York Times reporter, and author for his passionate commitment to demythologize and explain the abomination of war and its destructive effects on civil society.
100. William Sloane Coffin
Christian minister, author, anti-war activist, and mentor to a generation of peacemakers for his life-long Gospel witness and his passionate and prophetic leadership in the peace and social justice movements.
