Champions of Faith and Freedom

On November 11th, Interfaith Alliance supporters gathered together at New York City’s beautiful Gusavino’s to present the 15th annualWalter Cronkite Faith & Freedom Award to the Rev. Dr. C Welton Gaddy in honor of his 15th year as president of Interfaith Alliance. Mitchell Gold was also honored that evening with the Interfaith Alliance President’s Award for Defending Faith & Freedom. View pictures and videos from this extraordinary event below.

Ceremony

Photo Credit: Elena Olivo

Award-winning recording artist and activist Chely Wright presented the President’s Award for Defending Democracy & Freedom to Interfaith and LGBT activist Mitchell Gold.

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Mitchell Gold accepts the President’s Award for Defending Democracy & Freedom. Mitchell Gold has been tireless in his support and encouragement of the mission of Interfaith Alliance. His devotion to the work of justice for all within and outside his industry — especially for the LGBT community — is unmatched and directly resulted in his founding of Faith in America, an organization that addresses religion-based bigotry. He is also the esteemed co-founder of Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, one of the most respected names in the furniture industry.

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Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy accepts the 2012 Interfaith Alliance Walter Cronkite Faith and Freedom Award. Welton Gaddy has led Interfaith Alliance for 15 years and in that time has established himself and the organization as a leading voice committed to defending religious freedom and to protecting the boundaries between religion and government. Spanning a career in ministry and public service that has lasted over 50 years, he challenges those who seek to impose a narrow religious view on the rest of us. At the same time, he fights to protect the free practice of religion as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.

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Past recipients include actor and activist George Clooney, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow, ABC News anchor Peter Jennings, NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw, CNN’s Larry King, journalists Bill and Judith Moyers, U.S. Representatives Chet Edwards and Amo Houghton, the Rev. Joan Brown Campbell, Rev. Dr. James Forbes, Rabbi Steven Jacobs and activist Judy Shepard. A full list of past honorees can be found here.

As Rev. Gaddy would say, until next time, “you all take care of each other.”

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