MS01.01.03.B02.F23.077

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Harmon Foundation
Page 9

writers and professionals. Five hundred thousand dollars were
designated to endow these awards, [strikethrough] and were directed by the Commission
on the Church and Race Relations of the Federal Council of Churches
of Christian America.[/strikethrough] [paragraph symbol] The seven categories of the award opened to Blacks only were music, literature, fine arts, industry and business, education,
science and invention, and religion. #15 Each of the seven categories
of awards included a first place prize of $400.00 and a bronze medal. The individual
winner of the race relations award received $500.00 and a gold
medal 16 [paragraph symbol] It was the expressed purpose of the Harmon Foundation
in giving the awards to seek out distinguised Black professionals who were deserving of
recognition but had received none prior to that time. Each category
was to be judged by five persons with at least one of the judges
being Black. The Black judge along with two other judges would be
well known for their knowledge and ability in the field with the
remaining two [strikethrough] judges [/strikethrough] representing the Harmon Foundation and the commission on the Church and Race Relations of the Federal Council of
Churches of Christ in America. * The date of the presentation of the
awards was set for January 1, the anniversary day of the signing of
the Emancipation Proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln, 16 another small
reflection of Mary Brady's loyal Republicanism,
loyal

In 1926 the first year of the awards for Distinguished
Achievement among Black professionals, several categories were
without winners either because the judges could not find a work
*A roster of the judges in 1930, four years after the first awards were
made included the well known American painter of the Ashcan
School, George Luks, along with George Hellman, Karl Illava,
Victor Perard an art instructor at the Art Student's League, and Meta Warrick Fuller, a well know Black sculptor who had been a pupil of French Impressionist
sculptor August Rodin.

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