An Evansville civil rights leader is this year’s winner of the Rotary Civic Award. WNIN’s John Gibson has details:
The club has bestowed its annual award upon Sondra Matthews.
She’s widely recognized for her lifelong commitment to community service, activism, and the preservation of Black history.
Matthews was a graduate of Lincoln High School, earned a degree in Mass Communications from the University of Evansville in 1977, and has long served as a voice for the underserved.
In 1983, Matthews and her nephew, DeMarco Hampton, founded Our Times, Evansville’s only Black-owned newspaper.
I
n response to plans to demolish the Lincoln Gardens housing complex, Matthews advanced a vision to preserve the history the Baptisttown neighborhood, leading to the creation of the Evansville African American Museum.
In addition to the Rotary Civic Award, Matthews has been honored as a Sagamore of the Wabash, and a portion of South Garvin St. has been renamed Sondra L. Matthews Way.
