Washington, DC, October 15, 2007 … Four heroes in the fight against hate and intolerance will be honored by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) during the 13th annual ADL In Concert Against Hate at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC on Monday, October 29. The ADL Ina Kay Awards will be presented during a concert narrated and hosted by members of the cast of the award-winning HBO television series, The Wire.  The concert will be performed by the National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Emil De Cou. The awards recognize individuals for extraordinary acts of courage in confronting intolerance and injustice, extremism and terrorism.

Honorees this year include:

•  Liviu Librescu, a Romanian Jew, survived the Holocaust and thirty-five years of communist rule in Romania before being allowed to emigrate to Israel. An internationally renowned mathematician and aeronautical engineer, Prof. Librescu sacrificed his life to allow his students to escape the shooting rampage at Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007. Prof. Librescu's wife, Marilena, and oldest son, Joseph, will join us for the tribute.

•  Eugene Sayles was a nineteen year-old sailor in the U.S. Navy serving at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine when a ship being loaded with ammunition exploded on July 17, 1944, killing 320 people, of whom more than 202 were African-American ammunition loaders. The Port Chicago disaster was a turning point in the Civil Rights movement and a catalyst for desegregating the military. Eugene Sayles, now 82, will be accompanied by his two daughters and two grandsons.

•  David Ritcheson, a seventeen year-old Hispanic high school student from Harris County, Texas, was beaten, tortured and left to die by two white supremacists in April 2006. A year after the assault, David testified before Congress on the need for comprehensive hate crime laws and became a tireless advocate. Tragically, in June 2007, David Ritcheson took his own life. David's parents will join us for the tribute. 

More information on the ADL Concert Against Hate and past award receipients is available online at http://www.adlconcert.org/

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.