Dr. Valerie Wardlaw (Contributing Writer)August 12, 2015
Grammy award-winning artist Mavis Staples received the second annual Woody Guthrie Award at the Grammy Museum on July 22. Given to an artist that “best exemplifies the spirit and life of Woody Guthrie,” the award celebrates those who “speak for the less fortunate through music, film, literature, dance, or other arts,” said Deanna McCloud, executive director of the Woody Guthrie Center located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. A beloved member of the award-winning gospel group, the Staple Singers, Mavis Staples was honored for their work during the Civil Rights movement. “Mavis Staples and the Staples Singers were fighters for civil rights and