Scarritt-Bennett Center will award alumna Musa Dube the Ann Reskovac Courage Award at its annual awards dinner on Friday, Nov. 20.

A Botswanan scholar and HIV/AIDS activist, Dube holds a doctorate from Vanderbilt.

Dube will deliver the keynote address for the event that also honors the Rev. James Lawson, renowned Civil Rights leader, pastor and Vanderbilt Distinguished Professor; Brenda Gilmore, Tennessee State Representative of House District 54 and former Metro Council member; and Maxine Clarke Beach, dean of the Theological School at Drew University and the first executive director of Scarritt-Bennett Center.

 Scarritt-Bennett Center board of directors’ executive committee selected these individuals because of their commitment to social justice issues, a core value of SBC’s mission. 

The awards dinner is open to the public. Individual tickets are $35; a table is $250. Reservations can be made by calling (615) 340-7543. 

In her keynote address at the event, Dube will focus on women’s issues in the global community. She is a feminist postcolonial biblical scholar who has done groundbreaking work on the issues surrounding gender and HIV/AIDS, specifically regarding prevention, quality care and breaking through the stigma of the disease in Africa.

An accomplished author and professor in the University of Botswana’s Department of Theology and Religious Studies, Dube lived on Scarritt-Bennett’s campus during her studies at Vanderbilt in the late 1990s, and became an integral part of the Scarritt-Bennett community. She is a highly sought after international speaker in academic and ecumenical circles. 

Lawson will receive the Scarritt-Bennett Legacy Award for his efforts to bring about racial justice and peace and for his support of the center’s mission to eradicate racism. Gilmore will receive the Friend of Scarritt-Bennett Award for her work to make a transforming contribution to the community through the center’s Diversity in Dialogue program and its partnership with Metro Nashville Government. Beach, the first executive director of Scarritt-Bennett Center, will receive the Belle Harris Bennett Vision Award for her leadership and vision during the crucial early days of the Scarritt-Bennett Center.

The event will feature the cuisine of the center’s new executive chef Jennifer Wood, who is known for her work as executive chef at South Street Restaurant.

Scarritt-Bennett Center is a nonprofit education, retreat and conference center committed to the eradication of racism, empowerment of women, education of laity and spiritual formation. For more information, visit www.scarrittbennett.org.

Contact: Princine Lewis, 615-322-NEWS
 princine.lewis@vanderbilt.edu