Ben Jealous Awarded The Puffin/Nation Prize; Donating Portion of Prize Money to Troy Davis’ Nephew

Ben Jealous, president and CEO of the NAACP, was awarded The Puffin/Nation Prize for Creative Citizenship earlier this week.

$100,000 is included in the prize  that is given to someone who has “challenged the status quo through distinctive, courageous, imaginative, and socially responsible work of significance.”

Jealous has decided to give part of his money to Troy Davis’ nephew. Many will remember that Davis was executed in September of last year for the murder of a police office, a crime many say he did not commit.

Jealous plans to use the prize money for a college fund for his own children, as well as De’Jaun Davis-Correia, the nephew of Troy Davis. In 2011, Davis-Correia lost his grandmother, his uncle was executed and his mother died of cancer.