The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee (ACLU-TN) today announced that Charles Strobel will be honored with the organization’s Lifetime Achievement Award on Thursday, Nov. 1 at its annual Bill of Rights Celebration. ACLU-TN is recognizing Strobel for his activism against the death penalty and his lifelong dedication to social justice and equal protection for the poor and the homeless.

“Charles Strobel has devoted his life to the fight for human rights, from his inspiring opposition to the death penalty to his defense of the rights of the poor and homeless.  We are delighted to honor him with our Lifetime Achievement Award for his steadfast leadership and advocacy,” said Hedy Weinberg, ACLU-TN Executive Director.

ACLU-TN will also present the inaugural Ben Pressnell Bill of Rights Award to the late Ben Pressnell, an ACLU-TN plaintiff, intern, volunteer attorney and board member who championed the rights of the disenfranchised and the vulnerable. “Ben was an extraordinary human being who was unwavering in his conviction that each of us must stand up for justice and equality for all,” Weinberg said.

This year’s Bill of Rights Celebration will also include a special performance by Emmylou Harris.

At the forefront of civil liberties battles across Tennessee, ACLU-TN employs a range of strategies including advocacy, education, legislative lobbying and litigation to ensure that Tennesseans’ constitutional freedoms are being protected.  An affiliate of the National ACLU, ACLU-TN is a private, non-profit, non-partisan membership organization.

Recent ACLU-TN highlights include: successfully intervening to protect a high school student’s First Amendment rights to support the formation of a gay-straight alliance club; defending Occupy Nashville’s free speech; launching a bilingual initiative to ensure immigrants’ understand their constitutional rights; mobilizing opposition to defeat anti-civil-liberties legislation such as the “Don't Say Gay in School” bill and an Arizona-style racial profiling bill; and empowering youth through our annual Students’ Rights Conference.

ACLU-TN’s Bill of Rights Celebration will begin at 6:30 p.m. with a silent auction of autographed books, art and more. Dinner, the awards presentation and Harris’ special performance will follow at 7:45 p.m.  The Celebration will take place at the Loews Vanderbilt Hotel in Nashville.

Tickets are $125 per person and sponsorship opportunities are available here. Tickets and sponsorships may also be purchased by calling the ACLU-TN office at (615) 320-7142.