Juneteenth and the Aichana Abeid Boilil Awards 

Every Juneteenth the Abolition Institute honors outstanding leaders in the fight against modern slavery with our Aichana Abeid Boilil Award – named after the first woman rescued from slavery by our partner organization SOS Esclaves. 
Previous winners have included:
 

• Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky

• Former Illinois Lieutenant Governor Sheila Simon

• Illinois State Representative La Shawn Ford

• Chicago Alderman Maria Hadden

• Boubacar Messaoud, Founder of SOS Esclaves

• Mauritanian human rights attorney Mohameden Elid

• Mauritania’s first woman lawyer Fatimata M’Baye

• Attorney Tom Campbell – author of “Fighting Slavery in Chicago”

• Julia Harrington Reddy of Open Society Foundations

• Anti-trafficking volunteer Majid Mustafa

• Oak Park – River Forest High School Student Leader Carolyn Santos

• Human Rights Leader Jerry Herman

• Zakat Foundation Director Halil Demir

• Forest Park Mayor Rory Hoskins

• Black Remembrance Project and Founder LaCreshia Birts

• Kofi Boateng of WGHC Radio

• Sena Amenu of WGHC Radio

• Global political strategist and human rights leader Antonio Sola

• Filmmaker Michele Stephenson

• Elkory Sneiba, Communications Director of SOS Esclaves