Stetson Kennedy
Awards, Honors & Recognition
Stetson has been recognized many times over the course of his productive life.

Stetson Kennedy Chronological List of Awards
in Descending Order

2010

  • Dorothy Dodd Lifetime Achievement Award

    Florida Historical Society, St. Augustine

  • Citizen Above Self Finalist

    Congressional Medal of Honor Society of the United States - For spending a lifetime actively advocating on behalf of those suffering from denial of basic human rights...exposed injustice and exploitation at home and abroad, infiltrated a score of domestic terrorist groups. For more than three quarters of a century, Kennedy has taken part in struggles against war, totalitarianism, peonage,, disenfranchisement, chain gangs, infant mortality, unattended illness, homelessness, unemployment, and denial of educational opportunity

  • Charlton Tebeau Award Florida Historical Society

    For his book, Grits & Grunts: Folkloric Key West.

2009

  • People of Vision Award

    St. Johns Vision, St. Augustine, Florida “Stetson Kennedy is a “national treasure” for his role over the past seven decades as a civil right crusader, historian and author.”

2008

  • Literary Legend award

    Florida Heritage Book Festival

2007

  • Saint Johns County Vision Lifetime Achievement Award

    Honored for Kennedy's lifetime achievements on behalf of  human  rights and the environment.

2006

  • National New Deal Preservation Association Certificate of Appreciation

    The National New Deal Preservation Association is indebted to and grateful for the pioneer and lifetime work of Stetson Kennedy who, at the age of 21, was put in charge of folklore, oral history, and ethnic studies for the WPA Florida Writer’s Project and has continued to inspire a generation of scholars and oral historians.

  • A Night with Stetson Kennedy Event

    A Night with Stetson Kennedy event at University of North Florida with Bob Edwards, Arlo Guthrie, and Peggy Bulger

  • Gandhi King Ikeda Award

    Morehouse College Atlanta, GA “In the tradition of Mohandas K. “Mahatma: Gandhi, Dr. martin Luther King, Jr. and Dr. Daisaku Ikeda, you have served your community and the world through your dedication to peace and unity, your commitment to nonviolence, and your persistent efforts to establish justice for all humankind.

  • Lifetime Achievement Award

    Much Ado About Books Jacksonville, Florida

  • Honorary Keynote Speaker

    Rotary International St. Augustine, Florida

  • Honorary Life Member ACCORD.

    40th Anniversary to Commemorate the Civil Rights Demonstrations, Jacksonville, Florida

2005

  • Alfred J, Hannah Award

    Rollins College, Winter Park, Florida

  • Florida Artists Hall of Fame (pictured) Florida Hall of Fame Award

    Awarded by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs. Jeb Bush, Governor. Glendale E. Hood, Secretary of State.

  • Gandhi King Ikeda Award

    Morehouse College Atlanta, GA “In the tradition of Mohandas K. “Mahatma: Gandhi, Dr. martin Luther King, Jr. and Dr. Daisaku Ikeda, you have served your community and the world through your dedication to peace and unity, your commitment to nonviolence, and your persistent efforts to establish justice for all humankind.

  • Florida Heritage Historical Marker

    Florida Heritage” Historic Marker Installed at Beluthahatchee St. Johns County, Florida

  • Stetson Kennedy Day - October 4th

    Stetson Kennedy Day Board of County Commissioners St. Johns County, Florida

2004

  • Historic Floridian Award

    The Broward Folk Club South Florida Folk Festival “In appreciation for his numerous contributions to the Folk Arts of Florida and the United States

  • Beluthahatchee Literary Landmark Designation

    Literary Landmark designation bestowed upon Beluthahatchee (Fruit Cove, Florida) by Friends of Libraries USA

  • Willfest Honoree & Lifetime Member

    Will McLean Foundation Dunnellon, Florida

2003

  • Society of Professional Journalists : Fellow of the Society

    Fellow of the Society Awarded by the Society of Professional Journalists for demonstrating the highest standards and providing extraordinary contributions to the profession of journalism

  • Clanzel T. Brown Award

    Jacksonville Urban League Jacksonville, Florida “In recognition of the significant contributions you have made over several decades in fighting for human rights, fair treatment, and equal opportunity, and for following the literal mandates for the constitution advocating freedom and justice for all.

2002

  • Unity in Diversity Award

    Diocese of St. Augustine Jacksonville, Florida

2001

  • Dr. Benjamin Spock Peacemaker of the Year Award

    Stetson Kennedy accepts the Dr. Benjamin Spock Peacemaker of the Year Ward in 2001. Watch his acceptance speech from 2001.

1999

  • Social Harmony Award

    Mary L. Singleton Memorial Day for Justice, Peace, and Social Harmony Jacksonville, Florida

  • Significant Sig Award

    Sigma Chi fraternity

  • Heartland Award

    Presented by, Florida Governor Lawton Chiles. Jacksonville, This is an award reserved for citizens who exemplify long-term commitment and service to their communities.

1995

  • Gustavus Meyer Award

    For book of year, “doing the most to combat prejudice in North America”
    (After Appomattox: How the South Won the War)

  • Award for your Service

    Lincoln-Douglass Memorial Emancipation Proclamation Association, Jacksonville

  • Appreciation Award

    Reconcile Jacksonville, “In loving appreciation and thanksgiving for his strength and courage in confronting and overcoming racial injustice.” (Rev. Davette Turk)

1994

  • Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters

    University of North Florida, Jacksonville

1993

  • Petra Foundation Award

    nominated by The Giraffe Project, Langley, WA.

  • Peace and Utility Award

    St. Martin De Porres Association, Archdiocese of Miami, FL, Co-Recipient Katherine Dunham, et al (1992 recipient Jimmy Carter et al).

  • In Recognition of Stetson Kennedy

    Institute of Florida Studies, Florida Technological University, Melbourne, Florida Folksinger/composer Frank Thomas debuts his “Ballad of Stetson Kennedy: One Man Against the Klan.”

1992

  • Jules Verne Medal of Honor

    Intercontinental Conference on Civil Rights and the Force of Law, Juridica, Nantes, France, Monnaie de Paris, Prix De l’Edit de Nantes.

  • NAACP Freedom Award

    Seminole County Branch, Florida

  • “Recognizing Stetson Kennedy”

    Martin Luther King Cultural Arts Group, Beverly Hills, FL

  • Honorary Phi Beta Kappa

    nominee, University of Florida

1991

  • Media Award

    Florida Historical Society, Florida Public Radio, Jo Miglino, Producer “Stetson Kennedy: Sing a Folksong, Live a Folklife.”

  • Cavallo Award ($5,000)

    avallo Foundation, Washington, DC “moral courage for the public benefit resulting in personal suffering or sacrifice.”

1990

  • Special Recognition Award, Giraffe Project

    “whose courageous actions Illuminate all our lives making manifest the truth that people who believe in themselves and care for others can meet any challenge life presents.”

  • “Celebrating Stetson Kennedy’s Palmetto Country”

    First tri-state Meeting of Florida, Georgia and Alabama State Historical Societies – Celebrating 50th Anniversary of Palmetto Country and author’s 75th Birthday.

  • Author Award

    Council of Florida Libraries

1989

  • “In the Nick of Time”

    Florida Humanities Council. Focus on WPA Florida Folklore collecting of 1930s under direction of Stetson Kennedy, Miami

1988

  • Florida Folk Heritage Award

    State of Florida, Division of Cultural Affairs

1959

  • Ministerial Dispensation to pursue Doctorate in Humane Letters

    Sorbonne, Paris, “based upon works published in France.”

1947

  • Freedom Award

    nomination, Freedom House, New York, NY

  • People’s Award, Negro Freedom Rally

    Madison Square Garden, NY “Who has shown a deep concern for the Welfare of Human Society and has opposed all forms of bigotry that would destroy our unity and with it our way of life.” Other recipients: Paul Robeson, Howard Fast, et al.

1947

  • Keynote Address: “Report from the South”

    Sponsored by the Southern Conference for Human Welfare, Washington, DC. (on platform: some Senators, Congressmen, Supreme Court Justices), St. Louis, Missouri