The YWCA of Greater Charleston is accepting nominations for a new social justice award named for the late poet Horace Mungin, a South Carolina native whose writings centered on improving race relations in America.
The Horace Mungin Social Justice Award will be presented to an individual and a nonprofit organization in South Carolina, said YWCA Executive Director LaVanda Brown.
Brown said an individual should demonstrate extraordinary commitment to advancing justice, equity and the rights of the oppressed. The mission of the organization should meaningfully address systemic barriers and uplift historically marginalized communities, she said.
The awards will be presented annually at the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Reception, which is held as part of YWCA’s longstanding MLK Celebration, now entering its 54th year.
Brown said Nov. 6 is the deadline to submit nominations to this link.
Political candidates who are declared and actively seeking office are not eligible. If a posthumous award is selected in any given year, a second living recipient will also be named.
Mungin, a native of Hollywood and a resident of Ridgeville, died September 2021. He was 80. Mungin was a pioneering literary voice whose work helped spark the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 70s, Brown said.
“His poetry and prose challenged systems of oppression, gave voice to Black identity and liberation, and helped awaken a generation to the fight for freedom and justice,” she said.
The award will honor that legacy by recognizing contemporary leaders and organizations who are carrying that torch forward, Brown added.
Mungin’s widow, Gussie Mungin, said, “Horace started writing in the late 1960s. He always loved writing while still working for the New York City transit system until retiring to Ridgeville.”
During his writing career, Mungin explored American racism from various perspectives, and he collaborated with other writers to do it, she said. “Horace had hoped people would have a better understanding of race relations in their lives,” she explained.
Mungin’s son, Malcolm Mungin, said, “Legacy is a word that comes to mind whenever I think about my father’s journey. Watching and listening to dad’s final year on this planet was simply mesmerizing. Now having seen this group form a legacy tribute in my dad’s honor has humbled and recertified my belief in hope!”
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