Twenty women from across Anne Arundel County will be honored this Sunday at the Pip Moyer Recreation Center in Annapolis, where the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Committee will hand out its annual Fannie Lou Hamer Awards for the 31st year running. The reception runs from 4 to 6 p.m. at 273 Hilltop Lane, with dinner following the program, and tickets cost $50 but will not be sold at the door.
This year's milestone anniversary comes with a new local cause attached: ticket proceeds will go toward creating a new Malcolm X Memorial in the City of Annapolis, according to a Facebook post from the committee. It's the latest in a string of public monuments the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Committee has backed since its founding in 1988 by former Annapolis Alderman Carl Snowden, including the Civil Rights Foot Soldiers Memorial in Annapolis in 2013 and the MLK Memorial statue at Anne Arundel Community College in 2006, as Broadway World reported.
The 2026 honorees include Elaine R. Bachmann, Francine Chambers-Diggs, Anne Colt Leitess, Mariah Davis, Maya Davis, Toyan Espeut, Darlise Johnson, Angel Lewis-Lee, Dr. Tanya Millner, Mamie Marie Murray, Alva D. Offer, Samelia Mae Parker, Lynda V. Rice, Julie M. Schablitsky, Jo Ann Scipio and Marlene Sh, according to Eye On Annapolis. Snowden, who will serve as master of ceremonies, said the recipients are committed to social justice through their daily work, describing the honorees as educators, activists and immigrants committed to improving America, the outlet reported.
A Roster With Deep Public Résumés
Several names on this year's list carry significant institutional weight across Maryland. Elaine R. Bachmann serves as the Maryland State Archivist and Commissioner of Land Patents, overseeing state records management, archival standards and historic art collections, according to the Maryland State Archives. Anne Colt Leitess became the first woman elected State's Attorney in the 95-year history of Anne Arundel County when she was sworn in in January 2019, per Anne Arundel County government records.
Dr. Tanya Millner was appointed interim president of Anne Arundel Community College effective July, after serving as provost and vice president of learning since August 2021, according to the college's newsroom. Julie M. Schablitsky serves as chief archaeologist for the Maryland Department of Transportation and led the excavation that identified Harriet Tubman's childhood home site in Dorchester County in 2021, as detailed by HistoryNet. And Maya Davis serves as director of the Riversdale House Museum and chair of the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture, having previously co-curated the Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman statues installed at the Maryland State House in 2020, according to Historic Sotterley.
More Than 100 Honorees Over Three Decades
The awards have now recognized more than 100 women since the program began, per Eye On Annapolis, with past recipients including former U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski, administrative law judge Tracey Warren Parker and former Annapolis Mayor Ellen Moyer. Mikulski, a 2009 honoree, said at the time that people continue to come together to bring about peaceful change, the outlet noted. Anne Arundel County's awards are meant to recognize women from diverse backgrounds who distinguished themselves while improving civil and human rights in the region, according to the same report.
The Civil Rights Legacy Behind the Award's Name
The awards take their name from Fannie Lou Hamer, a civil rights and voting rights activist who became a prominent leader in the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and helped organize Freedom Summer in 1964. She also worked with Head Start programs, the Freedom Farm Cooperative and the Poor People's Campaign before her death in 1977 at age 57, per Eye On Annapolis. Hamer gained national prominence at the 1964 Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, delivering her “Is this America?” speech before the Credentials Committee on behalf of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party — a moment so pointed that President Lyndon B. Johnson interrupted live coverage with an impromptu White House press conference, according to PBS.
Her legacy has drawn renewed national attention in recent years. In January 2025, President Joe Biden posthumously awarded Hamer the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, which was accepted by her niece Doris Hamer Richardson, according to a Facebook video from March On Fest. Sunday's reception in Annapolis carries that legacy forward at the local level, honoring women whose work spans archaeology, prosecution, education and public history across Anne Arundel County.
Those interested in attending can get event information by calling 301-538-6353 or visiting mlkjr.org.
