Nationally recognized expert on authoritarian movements and hate violence, Eric K. Ward has spent more than 30 years promoting the promise of inclusive democracy in America.

He is the first U.S. recipient of the Civil Courage Prize, an acknowledgment that, as Ward says, "America's dream of achieving a multiracial and inclusive democracy is in danger."

Ward is Executive Director of the influential Western States Center, a Senior Fellow with Southern Poverty Law Center and Race Forward, and Co-Chair for The Proteus Fund. He is one of a small group of leaders of color who have been working to counter organized hate since the 1980s. During his career, Ward traveled by bus across thousands of miles of predominantly white, rural areas to establish hundreds of anti-hate task forces.

Among Ward’s concerns are anti-LGBTQ violence, the growing influence of xenophobia on public policy, and antisemitism across the political spectrum.

A performer, Ward has a special interest in the use of music to advance inclusive democracy. He works with musicians to create new narratives that lift-up anti-bigotry and inclusion and puncture the myths driving American political and social divisions. He invites those who want to be heard along with politicians and movement leaders into the safe conversational space that exists between a performer and their audience. Ward’s own widely quoted writings and speeches are credited with narrative shifts in the discussion on race in the United States.

photo credit: Amy McMullen Photography