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CNN anchor and chief legal analyst Laura Coates will be honored with the esteemed Bill Ayres Social Justice Award at WhyHunger’s 50th Anniversary Chapin Awards Gala, taking place June 4 at Jazz at Lincoln Center in Frederick P. Rose Hall in New York City. The award recognizes Coates for her powerful storytelling, commitment to justice, and efforts to unite communities worldwide.
Before joining CNN, Coates served as a trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, focusing on voting rights enforcement, and later as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, where she prosecuted serious felony cases including drug trafficking, domestic violence, and sexual assault, according to her website.
In 2016, she authored the bestselling book You Have the Right: A Constitutional Guide to Policing the Police, demystifying citizens’ Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendment rights, and advocating for greater police accountability.
Now the host of Laura Coates Live on CNN, she continues to bring clarity to pressing legal and political issues. Notably, Coates delivered extensive coverage of last year’s presidential race hitting the ground in places like Michigan to talk with voters and hear their reactions. She has also had a pulse on the intense sex trafficking trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs, delivering updates along every step of the case—a testament to her commitment.
This year’s Bill Ayres Social Justice Award will be presented by CNN Senior National Correspondent Sara Sidner in honor of WhyHunger co-founder Bill Ayres. Coates is excited to receive this incredible honor.
“I am so humbled to be able to use my platform to democratize information and empower anyone and everyone to speak their own truth to power and uplift the most vulnerable among us!” the 45-year-old journalist said in a press release.
The Chapin Awards Gala generates essential support for WhyHunger’s mission to end hunger and uphold the human right to nutritious food. Joining Laura Coates in being honored at the event are Grammy Award-winning musicians and longtime activists Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo, who will receive the ASCAP Harry Chapin Humanitarian Award. Presented by New York Moves Moonah Ellison, the award celebrates artists whose creative impact and public platform have been harnessed to advance social justice and drive meaningful change. The evening will feature special performances by Benatar and Giraldo, along with a musical tribute by members of The Fab Faux, led by Music Director Will Lee.
Interested in attending this year’s gala? Grab tickets here.
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