Dr. Daphne Chamberlain Receives Doris Derby Legacy Award

Photo courtesy of Daphne Chamberlain

Dr. Daphne R. Chamberlain, ETIC Chief Program Officer, gave the keynote address at the 58th annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Birthday Convocation at Jackson State University held on Friday, January 16, 2026. Chamberlain said, "It was an honor to return to Jackson State to celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. King. He was a trailblazer, a global humanitarian, and one whose legacy should inspire us all to create a world that is better than the one we were born into." In addition, she was honored at the Margaret Walker Center's 31st annual For My People Awards Luncheon. 

The awards program "[n]amed for Margaret Walker's classic poem from 1942...honors people and institutions that have made indelible contributions to African American history and culture." Chamberlain received the For My People Doris Derby Legacy Award. The late activist, photographer, and scholar Dr. Doris Derby—whom Chamberlain had the privilege of knowing—charged the Margaret Walker Center to "honor a new generation of changemakers...who are building on the traditions of the 1950s and 1960s." Other 2026 For My People Awards recipients included Mississippi's first African American woman to be elected to the state legislature, Representative Alyce G. Clark, Representative Zakiya Summers - District 68, and the Mississippi Humanities Council.

Join us in congratulating Dr. Chamberlain on receiving this award!