Prominent labor union organizer and leader William Lucy was honored with the prestigious NAACP Chairman’s Award at the NAACP Image Awards on Monday. The award “is bestowed in recognition of individuals who demonstrate exemplary public service and use their distinct platforms to create agents of change.” Lucy, International Secretary-Treasurer of the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) for nearly 40 years, was recognized for his role in the labor movement and his accomplishments as a labor organizer and justice advocate. “His work with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the 1968 Memphis sanitation strike and the instrumental role he played in the anti-apartheid movement – which helped free Nelson Mandela and led to the first democratic elections in South Africa – exemplify Mr. Lucy’s impact on the civil and human rights movement in the U.S. and around the world,” said the NAACP. The Memphis Sanitation ‘I Am a Man’ Workers received the organization’s Vanguard Award. Read more about both awards here.