Emory will host the 13th annual James Weldon Johnson Medal Ceremony tomorrow to recognize four honorees for their dedication to the fields of literature, journalism, civil rights and humanitarianism.

Sponsored by Emory’s James Weldon Johnson Institution (JWJI), this year’s event will honor Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker, journalist Gloria Steinem, Georgia Congressman John Lewis and civil rights activist Myrlie Evers Williams.

Along with the Johnson Medals, the JWJI will also be presenting the first-ever humanitarian awards.

These awards will be given to Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin and former Coca Cola CEO E. Neville Isdell.

Established in 2007, the humanitarian award was developed by the JWJI to honor individuals who have made significant philanthropic contributions to humankind in the tradition of Johnson.

Named for Johnson, a renowned writer and civil rights activist, the ceremony seeks to award individuals who have excelled in the areas in which Johnson distinguished himself during his lifetime, according to JWJI’s Assistant Director of Research and Development Calinda Lee.

Such disciplines include social services in addition to the humanities.

“Johnson was, in a way, the ultimate humanist,” Lee said. “He was a teacher, attorney, activist and poet. By honoring those that exemplified Johnson’s values, we are affirming the goals that Emory holds.”

Seeking to commemorate Johnson’s work and legacy, the Johnson Medals were established in 1992 by two of the Johnsons’ family friends.

Past recipients of the award include opera singer Jessye Norman and entertainer/social activist Harry Belafonte.

Noted for her critically-acclaimed explorations into the black experience in America, Walker, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Color Purple, established a relationship with Emory in 2007 when she donated an archive of her writings and journals to the Manuscripts, Archives & Rare Books Library (MARBL).

Her works were on display until this fall.

Likewise, Lewis — a lifelong civil-rights activist who served as a keynote speaker at the historic March on Washington in August 1963 — has given several speeches at Emory throughout the years to encourage students to take a stand against social injustice.

Williams was also an active figure in the civil-rights movement of the 1960s.

In the years following her husband’s death, she dedicated her life to public service. She also served as the first full-time chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Steinem made a name for herself as a journalist in the 1960s, most notably for a 1963 undercover report that explored the treatment of women featured in Playboy magazine.

This year’s JWJI awards ceremony will be emceed by award-winning actress Regina Taylor with Emory President James W. Wagner offering remarks and presenting one of the major awards of the night.

This Thursday, all six JWJI honorees will return to campus in order to take part in a panel discussion titled, “Lessons Learned Along the Way.”

In addition to serving as an excellent opportunity for students to interact with experts in a number of different fields, Lee also said she sees the events as a way for Emory to connect with the greater Atlanta community.

“We welcome many guests who may not be a part of Emory or who may not typically go to events,” she said.

— Contact Mark Rozeman