The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation has awarded one of four 2006 Bradley Prizes for outstanding achievement to Hoover Institution research fellow Shelby Steele.
Steele specializes in race relations, U.S. social culture, and identity politics. Having written extensively for major publications, he has had a profound influence on mainstream attitudes about the roles of education, families, and character in overcoming the legacy of slavery and segregation.
"Shelby Steele is a deeply reflective scholar, with incredible insight on issues related to culture, values, and government affirmative action policies," said Hoover Institution director John Raisian. "His amazing eloquence and use of the English language makes for delightful listening and reading, leading to personal reflection relating to the issues he pursues. His winning the Bradley Award is certainly warranted, and we all feel a sense of pride at Hoover with his wonderful accomplishments."
Steele received the National Book Critic's Circle Award for his book The Content of Our Character: A New Vision of Race in America. His most recent books are A Dream Deferred: The Second Betrayal of Black Freedom in America and White Guilt: How Blacks and Whites Together Destroyed the Promise of the Civil Rights Era. In 1991, Steele earned an Emmy Award, a Writer's Guild Award, and the San Francisco Film Festival Award for his work on the PBS documentary Seven Days in Bensonhurst. In 1994, he was awarded the National Humanities Medal.
Michael Grebe, the president and chief executive officer of the Bradley Foundation said: "The Bradley Foundation is honoring Dr. Steele for his contributions to the study of race in America and his undying devotion to equality for all. He has a distinguished body of work that has led to understanding of racial equality in America."
Steele will be presented with the award during a ceremony on May 25 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
Also honored with the award this year were Middle East scholar Fouad Ajami, school choice advocate Clint Bolick, and internationally recognized economist Hernando de Soto.
Founded in 1985, The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is devoted to strengthening American democratic capitalism and the institutions, principles, and values that sustain and nurture it.
