2005 Ralph B. Atkinson Award Winners

Ewalker James

The Atkinson Award is named for the distinguished civil rights advocate Ralph B. Atkinson. The award is presented each year by the Monterey County Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union to a local advocate for civil liberties. We are pleased to announce the 2005 recipient is Ewalker James, for a lifetime of achievements dedicated to civil rights, equal opportunity, and equal justice for all, with the goal of making our community a better and safer place to live.

Born in 1934 in South Carolina, Ewalker James earned his A.A. degree from Monterey Peninsula College and his B.A. from San Jose State University. A veteran of both the Korean and Vietnam wars, he served in the U.S. Army for twenty-one years, retiring in 1994 as a Federal Civil Servant at Fort Ord.

Ewalker has been and is currently active in organizations dedicated to the educational, cultural, economic, and social betterment of our community. His past and present organizational memberships include:

• President of the PTA of the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District
• President of the Retired Men's Social Club
• President of the Seaside Cultural Arts Group
• Life Member of the VFW, Post 8679-Seaside
• Founder of the Seaside Citizens Against Drugs and Crime
• President of the Seaside Citizens League for Progress
• Board Member of Leadership Monterey Peninsula (LMP)
• Life Member of the Monterey Peninsula Branch of the NAACP
• President of the Kappa Alpha Lambda Chapter/Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
• Secretary and Board Member of the California State AARP
• Chair of the Monterey County Overall Economic Development Commission
• Board Member of the Monterey Peninsula United Way
• Chair of the Monterey County Office of Education Affirmative Action Committee
• Member of the Board of Directors of the Monterey County Chapter of the ACLU of Northern California
• Director of Region III and Treasurer of the California Association of Compensatory Education (CACE)
• Member of the Board of Directors of the Monterey Jazz Festival
• Member of the The Learning Center at California State Unitersity of Monterey Bay

We are privileged to have Ewalker James take his place amongst the list of local civil rights advocates who have honored us by accepting the Ralph B. Atkinson Award for Civil Liberties.