SPLC Program Earns 18 Award Nominations

The Southern Poverty Law Center's Teaching Tolerance program and design department earned an unprecedented 18 nominations in the annual Association of Educational Publishers (EdPress) awards.

Teaching Tolerance magazine is nominated for EdPress' highest honor -- the Golden Lamp Award in the periodicals category.

EdPress describes the Golden Lamp Award as "the most prestigious award within the field of educational publishing. Publishing professionals, educators and librarians recognize winners as providing the most outstanding materials for learning. In addition to encompassing content and design that transcends the best in its category, Golden Lamp pieces are critiqued on their fulfillment of their educational mission."

Teaching Tolerance magazine won the Golden Lamp in 1995.

"This is a tribute to many, many dedicated and talented people," said Brian Willoughby, managing editor of Teaching Tolerance. "We're humbled by the number of nominations, and we take it as a sign to continue working to help teachers address critical issues of bias and diversity in classrooms across America."

Teaching Tolerance magazine and the Center's other educational materials -- including its film-based curriculum kits -- are provided free to educators across the nation.

Four finalists compete in each EdPress awards category, with winners announced at a June 9 banquet in Washington, D.C. In addition to the Golden Lamp nomination, Teaching Tolerance is nominated for the following Distinguished Achievement Awards:

Teaching Tolerance magazine

• Periodical of the Year
• Most Improved Magazine
• Curriculum specialist/writer Jeff Sapp, in the Editorial Interview/Profile category, for "Here to Tell My Story", his Q-and-A with holocaust survivor Gerda Weissmann Klein
• Writer/editor Dana Williams, in the Editorial News Story category, for her story about transgender students, "Caroline is a Boy"
• Managing editor Brian Willoughby, in the Editorial Writing category, for "Lessons of Tolerance"

Design

• Spring 2005 issue of Teaching Tolerance magazine, Cover category
• "Caroline is a Boy," Illustration category
• "Bully on the Bus," Illustration category
• "Body, Mind and Spirit," Photography category
• "Game Face," Article category
• Speak Up! Responding to Everyday Bigotry, Whole Publication category

Curriculum kits/Publications

• One Survivor Remembers, in the Thematic Curriculum Package category
• Mighty Times: The Children's March, in the Comprehensive Curriculum Package category
• One World Poster Set II, in the Posters category
• Speak Up! Responding to Everyday Bigotry, overall Booklet category

Tolerance.org

• The Power of Words, in the Educational Websites category
• MixItUp, for Educational Portal

Last year, Teaching Tolerance earned five nominations and won two awards -- one for the magazine's commemorative edition marking the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education and another for Talk to Kids About ..., Dana Williams' monthly parenting column.