STATEMENT FROM GOVERNOR MARTIN O’MALLEY ON THE PASSING OF CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER DR. BENJAMIN LAWSON HOOKS

ANNAPOLIS, MD (April 16, 2010) –Governor Martin O’Malley today issued the following statement following the passing of civil rights leader and executive director of the NAACP, Dr. Benjamin Lawson Hooks:

“I am saddened by the news that we have lost a champion who fought for equality for all Americans. Dr. Hooks was responsible for bringing the NAACP’s headquarters to Baltimore, and has been a steadfast lifelong advocate of equal rights for all. Through his work as a civil rights attorney, minister, judge, Executive Director of the NAACP, and as founding chair of the National Civil Rights Museum, Dr. Benjamin Lawson Hooks raised awareness and fought tirelessly for the civil rights for all Americans, and believed in the dignity of every individual.

“Whether he was in a courtroom, in the halls of the FCC, the NAACP, or presiding over a ministry, Dr. Hooks confronted prejudice and inequality nationwide and in doing so, wrote a new, even more honorable chapter in American history.”