Civil Rights Worker Andrew Goodman to Receive Posthumous Honorary Doctoral Degree from Queens College
Goodman’s brother and President of The Andrew Goodman Foundation, David Goodman, will accept the Honor at the Queens College Commencement 2015
New York, NY, May 27, 2015: Queens College will honor former student, Andrew Goodman with a Doctoral Degree of Humane Letters, honoris causa (posthumous) at this year’s Commencement Ceremony on Thursday, May 28. Goodman is a noted civil rights activist who was killed at the hands of the Ku Klux Klan in Mississippi alongside two fellow civil rights workers–James Chaney and Michael Schwerner–at the onset of Freedom Summer 1964. Goodman was a junior at Queens College at the time of his death.
Andrew Goodman’s work demonstrates the power of collaboration across racial, social, and generational lines to overcome systemic inequalities. Over 50 years later, his legacy continues through The Andrew Goodman Foundation, which empowers the next generation of leaders to initiate and sustain effective social action.
“My brother, Andy, along with James and Michael demonstrated that black and white, Jew and Christian, young and older Americans can work together to form a more perfect union for all,” said David Goodman, President, The Andrew Goodman Foundation. “Now, more than ever we need to continue their passionate calls for fairness and equality.”
Andrew Goodman has become a historic figure and role model for civic engagement and social impact. In 2014, Goodman, Chaney, and Schwerner were posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for “extraordinary contributions to our country and the world.”
The Queens College Commencement will be webcast live and broadcast on Queens Public Television.