Neil Young will be honored by an anti-Jerry Falwell organization for his efforts in supporting democracy through his music. The rock legend will receive the Spirit Of Liberty Lifetime Achievement Award from the People For The American Way Foundation at the organization’s 20th anniversary dinner at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California December 11.
Joining Young as foundation honorees are film makers Trey Parker and Matt Stone (South Park), Kevin Smith (Dogma, Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back), and Kimberly Pierce (Boys Don’t Cry), and Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi.
All recipients have “taken public stands to support a free, open, and democratic society through their art and work, educating while entertaining and courageously addressing today’s most fundamental and political issues,” according to a spokesperson for the organization.
The People For The American Way Foundation was founded 20 years ago to counter the conservative values and efforts of Rev. Falwell’s Moral Majority and to promote “American values that uphold a diverse democratic society.”