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 The William J. Brennan, Jr. Defense of Freedom Award was established to honor those whose actions have advanced the cause of freedom of expression. The award serves as a symbol and celebration of the principles of the First Amendment.
It is altogether fitting that this award is given in the name of the Honorable William J. Brennan, Jr., its first recipient. Justice Brennan was more than an impassioned voice for the principles of free speech enshrined in the First Amendment. On the Supreme Court, he was a consensus builder and leader who was able to turn those principles into law. Justice Brennan read the First Amendment broadly, not just to protect the rights of the institutional press, but to guarantee the right of free speech for all Americans. And in over three decades on the Court, he repeatedly wrote his understanding of the Amendment into law in a series of landmark cases that will govern how Americans understand their society and their role in it for years to come.
2019: Besieged Journalists Abroad (Accepted by Maria Ressa and Hatice Cengiz)
2016: Daniel Ellsburg
2011: Anthony Lewis
2009: Václav Havel
2007: David Fanning
2004: Ted Turner
2003: Howard H. "Tim" Hays
2002: War correspondents (collectively)
1999: Floyd Abrams
1998: Civil rights journalists of the 1950's and 1960's (collectively)
1997: Fred Friendly
1996: Katherine Graham and Arthur Ochs Sulzberger
1995: The Honorable Harry A. Blackmun
1994: Dr. Jan Moor-Jankowski
1992: The Honorable William J. Brennan, Jr.
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