Peace Corps to Celebrate 2023 Franklin H. Williams Award Winners

The Peace Corps will honor five returned Peace Corps volunteers and one non-returned volunteer at the 2023 Franklin H. Williams Awards ceremony on Wednesday, March 1, at the Planet Word Museum in Washington, D.C.

The Franklin H. Williams Awards were established in 1999 to honor the legacy of Williams’ many contributions to the U.S. Peace Corps and the honor recognizes the contributions of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, Returned Peace Corps Response Volunteers, and one non-RPCV of color whose work exemplifies the advancement of world peace and friendship. The Franklin H. Williams Awards also spotlight the achievements of Americans from diverse backgrounds that work diligently to advance the Peace Corps’ Third Goal: To help promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.

A former Peace Corps regional director for Africa and U.S. ambassador to Ghana, Williams was the first Black person named U.S. representative to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations and the first Black person ever to serve as an ambassador to an African country. As a trusted advisor to the first Peace Corps Director, Sargent Shriver, in advancing the agency’s mission across the globe, Williams dedicated his life and career to combating racial injustice both here in America and around the world.

Honorees are: Carol Spahn, director of the Peace Corps (2022 – present), Charlayne Hunter-Gault, Award-Winning Journalist, Terrell J. Starr, notable journalist and host of Black Diplomats podcast and Nicole Banister, internationally recognized TV show host and presenter.

The event will be live streamed at 3 p.m. PT from Planet Word Museum. Register for live stream here.