Shaquille O'Neal named 2024 Muhammad Ali Humanitarian of the Year

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A former NBA star was selected as the 2024 Muhammad Ali Humanitarian of the Year.

The center's largest annual fundraiser honors people who have dedicated their lives to humanitarianism. The awards honor people in two categories. Seasoned Awards honor people who have dedicated a significant portion of their lives to humanitarianism, while the Six Core Principles Awards are presented to young adults 30 years old or younger.

The Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Awards will be held on Nov. 9. This year's honorees include six founders of organizations focused on women's rights, climate awareness, public health, assistive technology, education and poverty justice.

The Seasoned Awardees include:

Shaquille O'Neal - Humanitarian of the Year: O'Neal is considered one of the best basketball players of all-time. With a larger-than-life personality and 7'1" presence, O'Neal has garnered international adulation. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, won the NBA MVP, NBA Rookie of the Year and was selected to 15 All-Star games. O'Neal has raised millions of dollars for charity and became a national spokesperson for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. His Shaquille O'Neal Foundation creates pathways for underserved youth to help them achieve their full potential.
Bryan Stevenson - Lifetime Achievement: Stevenson is a widely acclaimed public interest lawyer who dedicated his career to helping the poor, incarcerated and condemned. He founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a human rights organization in Montgomery. EJI has won major legal challenges eliminating excessive and unfair sentencing, exonerated innocent death row prisoners, confronted abuse of the incarcerated and mentally ill and helped children prosecuted as adults. Stevenson is also the author of New York Times bestseller "Just Mercy."
Nile Rodgers - Global Citizen: Rodgers is an iconic songwriter, producer, musician and philanthropist. He is a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee and won multiple Grammy Awards. Rodgers used his talents to influence and connect music and philanthropy with numerous fundraising efforts like LIVE AID, We Are The World and Concert for Ukraine. Rodgers founded We Are Family Foundation after 9/11. Rogers received the 2024 World Economic Forum's Crystal Award for his efforts to make the world a more peaceful and inclusive place.
Dawne Gee - Kentucky Humanitarian: Gee is an Emmy-award winning journalist whose career has spanned over three decades in broadcast journalism and radio. She is an advocated for numerous nonprofits. Gee was recognized as the 2009 Lyman T. Johnson Distinguished Leadership Award. Gee received the city of Louisville's Keeper of the Dream Award in 2023 for exemplifying the ideals of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s vision.

The Seasoned Awardees are six young international humanitarians working in their countries to embody one of Muhammad Ali's six core principles: Confidence, Conviction, Dedication, Giving, Respect, and Spirituality

Deja Foxx: the 23-year-old overcame adversity in the United States at a young age. She experienced homelessness at the age of 15. She founded GenZ Girl Gang as a freshman at Columbia University. The organization's mission is to redefine sisterhood for a new generation through bridging generational gaps, creating and sharing opportunities and learning from teaching each other. Foxx promotes reproductive health and education.
Sophia Kianni: the 22-year-old from Iran is the founder and executive director of Climate Cardinals, which is an international youth-led nonprofit working to make the climate movement more accessible for people who don't speak English. Climate Cardinals focuses on educating and empowering a diverse coalition of people to address the climate crisis.
Shah Chowdhury and Mohammad Yasir: the 28-year-olds from Bangladesh are the co-founders of Footsteps. The organization empowers more than 300,000 people in Bangladesh with safe water and sanitation access, disaster resilience and improved public health services. Footsteps has acted as a catalyst for hundreds of marginalized communities in helping them overcome social challenges.
Lianna Genovese: the 23-year-old founded ImaginAble Solutions, which is a social impact company that creates assistive technology to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities. Genovese's mission is to improve accessibility by creating innovative technologies and accessible design to break down barriers and make communication, recreation and rehabilitation accessible to all.
Richa Gupta - the 28-year-old is an educator and social entrepreneur from India. Gupta is the CEO and co-founder of Labhya Foundation, a nonprofit that has pioneered well-being movement in India. The nonprofit is dedicated to institutionalizing programs that improve the quality of education and well-being for children. Labhya currently helps 2.4 million vulnerable children.
Charlot Magayi: the 30-year-old is the founder and CEO of Mukuru Clean Stoves, a product that helps mothers keep their children safe, save on fuel consumption and reduce household air pollution. Mukuru Clean Stoves repurposes locally sourced waste metla to manufacture improved, efficient and reliable cookstoves.

To learn more about the Humanitarian Awards, click here.

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