BlackCommentator.com is pleased to announce that Editorial Board member Larry Pinkney has been recognized twice for his role in the struggle for social justice, economic justice and peace. We congratulate brother Larry for this achievement.

The World Prout Assembly is an organization whose mission is to unite moralists everywhere against exploitation anywhere. The Assembly seeks to gather together the unheralded and unsung heroes and heroines around the globe, who quietly do yeoman work in countless local struggles against oppression.

The First Summit of the World Prout Assembly, held May 22-25, 2008 at Radford University, Radford, Virginia. Pinkney was given the first Voice of Justice Award for his quiet, humble, endless work for suffering humanity, which takes the form of his illuminating writings on issues of justice and injustice, which further takes the form of thousands of hours of tireless work in his local community, both of which always seek to give a voice to the oppressed people of the world.

Four other individuals received the Voice of Justice Award from the World Prout Assembly along with Mr. Pinkney.

The names of the other four awardees are:

Lynne Stewart - New York defense attorney and lifelong advocate for those whom no one else wanted to defend. She was also the keynote speaker at the conference opening night.

Tom Feeley - Editor/Webmaster of Information Clearinghouse - since the past one month Tom has gone underground due to threats on his life and the lives of his family members by government agents because he refuses to take down his site. His present whereabouts is unknown.

Stephen Lendman - who wrote an email in 2005 to Norm Finkelstein, and in response Finkelstein asked if he could put the email on his site as an article - Steve never looked back and has been writing articles ever since at the rate of three every week, always in defense of the oppressed, particularly the Palestinians. He now in addition to writing runs a radio show with Dr. Michel Chossudovsky of www.globalresearch.ca.

Gary Corseri - long-standing poet and writer who gave tremendous moral support for one year towards the manfiestation of the "Building a New World" conference.

Additionally, on July 19, 2008, the Oakland Community School Reunion Committee on behalf of the Oakland School family of staff, parents, students and their children issued a Certificate of Appreciation to Larry Pinkney and BlackCommentator.com. The certificate was presented in recognition of heart-warming assistance, support and time which greatly helped the school make the reunion a joyous, wonderful and successful occasion for all.

BlackCommentator.com Editorial Board Member, Larry Pinkney, is a veteran of the Black Panther Party, the former Minister of Interior of the Republic of New Africa, a former political prisoner and the only American to have successfully self-authored his civil/political rights case to the United Nations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In connection with his political organizing activities in opposition to voter suppression, etc., Pinkney was interviewed in 1988 on the nationally televised PBS NewsHour, formerly known as The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour. For more about Larry Pinkney see the book, Saying No to Power: Autobiography of a 20th Century Activist and Thinker , by William Mandel [Introduction by Howard Zinn]. (Click here to read excerpts from the book). Click here to contact Mr. Pinkney.