Last week, City of McAllen District I Commissioner Richard F. Cortez was recognized by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People with the Presidential Award, the highest honor awarded by the organization. Cortez washonored for the work he did when, as mayor, he helped to bring the group’s annual convention to McAllen.
Cortez was part of a distinguished list of honorees, that included Civil Rights Awards being presented to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., son of the late civil rights icon and a civil rights activist and attorney Daniel Covich. Others receiving the Presidential Award included: James Bright; Gabi Canales; Lorenzo Cardona; Marlon Griffin; Joe A. Martinez; Daniel Robinson; Marvinette Smith; and Patsy Contes-Vasquez.
San Antonio Mayor Ivy Taylor was the keynote speaker for the banquet, pictured here with Cortez.
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