2011 BET Honors Award

Lonnie G. Bunch III, on the Red Carpet with Sharon Carpenter

Lonnie G. Bunch III, the founding director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture, will receive the 2011 BET Honors Education Award. BET will air the award show on February 21, 2011.

The other 2011 honorees are: 

• Entertainment:      Jamie Foxx
• Musical Arts:       Herbie Hancock
• Service:               Iman
• Media:                Linda Johnson Rice
• Theatrical:           Cicely Tyson

Mr. Bunch, a 30-year veteran of the museum field, became a supporter of Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park when he was serving as the curator of history for the California African-American Museum in Los Angeles. He traveled from Washington DC back to California to be the keynote speaker for the 2008 Allensworth Centennial Celebration at Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park.

In the foreword to Mrs. Alice C. Royal’s book Allensworth, The Freedom Colony Mr. Bunch wrote: 

“As I listened to friends of the community and former residents speak, I found myself captivated and moved by the passion and the stories shared by Mrs. Alice C. Royal. Soon she was taking me around to meet individuals whose stories helped me to better understand the history and meaning of this community. Mrs. Royal kindly schooled this historian, and by the time I left that fall event, I knew that I would write and later create an exhibition that would make more visible this interesting and illuminating history.”

In this audio clip from wbur.org NPR you can hear Mr. Bunch being interviewed by NPR Editor Sasa Woodruff for her 2008 NPR segment “Celebrating The Allensworth Legacy 100 Years Later.”




Mr. Lonnie G. Bunch III, the Friends of Allensworth congratulate you on receiving the 2011 BET Honors Education Award.

Stephen Hill, Sr.