2016 Lincoln Leadership Prize Awarded to Doris Kearns Goodwin for Commitment to Honoring President Abraham Lincoln's Legacy
Tony Kushner, award-winning playwright and screenwriter, will present Goodwin the award at Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation's May 13 gala
CHICAGO, May 4, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation (ALPLF) will award its prestigious Lincoln Leadership Prize to Doris Kearns Goodwin, a world-renowned presidential historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author, during a gala event at the Hilton Chicago at 7 p.m. May 13. Goodwin is the first historian to receive the coveted prize and receives it during the ALPLF's 16th Jubilee which commemorates 16 years of protecting, preserving and advancing the legacy of the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln.
Goodwin authored "Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln," which served in-part as the basis of 2014 Lincoln Leadership Prize recipient Steven Spielberg's major motion picture "Lincoln." She has been an advocate for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum from its inception more than 10 years ago and serves as a founding Life Member of the ALPLF Board. Among her many honors and awards, Goodwin is the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize, Lincoln Prize and the inaugural Book Prize for American History, as well as, the Charles Frankel Prize, given by the National Endowment for the Humanities, Sarah Josepha Hale Medal, New England Book Award, Carl Sandburg Literary Award and Ohioana Book Award.
"I am honored to accept this award celebrating the leadership legacy of President Abraham Lincoln," said Goodwin. "For me, no privilege has been greater than the opportunity to spend 10 years of my life living with Abraham Lincoln as I researched and wrote 'Team of Rivals.' I came to know, understand and admire Lincoln for his political genius and leadership along with his humanity, generosity of spirit, social conscience and sense of humor. Now, more than two centuries after his birth, we can say with absolute certainty that the ambition that powered Lincoln from his earliest days – the desire to establish an admirable reputation on earth so that his story could be told after he died – has been realized far beyond his fondest wishes."
Award-winning playwright and screenwriter Tony Kushner will present the Lincoln Leadership Prize to Goodwin. Kushner wrote the Oscar-nominated screenplay for Spielberg's "Lincoln," which was based in-part on Goodwin's book, "Team of Rivals;" and "Munich" with Eric Roth. Kushner was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for "Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes," which he adapted into an Emmy Award-winning HBO miniseries directed by Mike Nichols. Kushner also wrote the play "A Bright Room Called Day;" and the musical, "Caroline, or Change."
"Doris Kearns Goodwin's extraordinary body of work has made a significant contribution to American literature, political thought and historical understanding," said Kushner. "As literature, politics and history were principal concerns of the man after whom the Lincoln Leadership Prize is named, she seems to be not only deserving of this great honor, but the perfect candidate for it. Doris shares with Abraham Lincoln the kind of great and generous heart in which gravity and tragedy cohabit comfortably with durable optimism; faith in democracy and the rule of law; and a wonderful sense of humor. It's no surprise that Lincoln has been Doris' greatest subject. In her keen examination of how he led our country through its most perilous moment, Doris shows how leadership can be consonant with democracy when it combines self-effacing grace, authority, ambition, the spirit of sacrifice and a love of hard work - qualities which describe the ways Doris has maintained her position of invaluable leadership in American cultural and political life."
The Lincoln Leadership Prize is an annual award that recognizes outstanding individuals for a lifetime of service in the spirit of the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. The award honors individuals who manifest great strength of character, individual conscience and unwavering commitment to the defining principles of democracy. Previous honorees include Civil Rights Activists The Little Rock Nine, Filmmaker Steven Spielberg, 42nd President of the United States Bill Clinton, former Polish President Lech Walesa, Journalist Tim Russert, Astronaut James Lovell, Jr., Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
The annual event serves as the primary fundraiser for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation for the benefit of the Museum and Library, which does not receive any federal funding. For more information about the Lincoln Leadership Prize please visit www.alplm.org. For tickets and/or table sponsorship information please call 312/553-2000.
About the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation
The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation supports the collections and the educational and cultural programming of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum; fosters Lincoln scholarship through the acquisition and publication of documentary materials relating to Lincoln and his era; and promotes a greater appreciation of history through exhibits, conferences, publications, online services, and other activities designed to promote historical literacy.
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SOURCE Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation (ALPLF)
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