It is an honor to be able acknowledge you in this small way. Your heart energy has inspired us for many years. And we are not alone. We know that you have also inspired hundreds of students, proteges, and colleagues to devote their hearts and their lives to the cause of human rights. We know about people like this, because of the more than 100 Sullivan Ballou awards that have now been given out, many have gone to those people.
Everyone who works with you is in awe of your energy, your knowledge, and your total commitment to human rights.
It is fitting that you have chosen the field of international human rights into which to pour your energy. There could not be a more stark battleground between good and evil than the struggle to preserve the dignity and freedom of every person in the face of harsh oppression for speaking, writing, and affiliating with others.
We are making this award as you begin your retirement. You are entitled to a long rest, which we doubt you will take. But even so, your career has generated waves of energy and activism that will continue to grow and spread outward. To name just two, the Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights, which you helped found as the Minnesota Lawyers International Human Rights Committee in 1985 and then guided as executive director until 1997, is now a major human rights NGO with a staff of 15 and more than 500 volunteers that has consultant status with the United Nations.
And as director of the Human Rights Program at the University of Minnesota for 20 years, you have helped launch the careers of hundreds of human rights advocates. And even as you begin your retirement you are organizing the Barbara Frey Human Rights Fellowship to provide a year of post-graduate employment for a human rights student.
You have done good work, Barb Frey. Enjoy a rest and stay in touch.
Congratulations!
Elissa and Bruce Peterson, Founding Members