of God in Christ on April 21, 2010. The Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change at the University of Memphis Founded in 1996 by Hooks and faculty of the department of political science at the University of Memphis, the Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change at the University of Memphis is dedicated to preserving the history of the civil rights movement and continuing the struggle for equality championed by its namesake. The Hooks Institute is housed within the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Memphis. The mission of the Hooks Institute is teaching, studying and promoting civil rights and social change. This mission is implemented through a variety of programs focused on scholarship of the civil rights movement, public policy research and scholarship, commemorations and grants focused on continuing scholarship of the civil rights movement, public events focused on civil rights and social change, media focused on the civil rights movement including documentary films and websites, and direct engagement programs to improve the conditions of marginalized communities. Professional memberships American Bar Association National Bar Association Tennessee Bar Association Southern Christian Leadership Conference Tennessee Council on Human Relations Honors and awards Hooks was awarded the Spingarn Medal from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, 1986. In 1988, Hooks received an honorary doctorate at Central Connecticut State University. NAACP created the Benjamin L. Hooks Distinguished Service Award, which is awarded to persons for efforts in implementing policies and programs which promote equal opportunity. University of Memphis created the Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change. The Hooks Institute is committed to bringing scholars together to advance the goals of the civil rights movement, to promote human rights and democratic government worldwide, and to honor the lifetime of work of Hooks. Hooks received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush in November 2007. Was inducted in the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame at the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site on January 12, 2008 The Memphis Public Library's main branch is named in his honor. The University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law Alumni Chapter honored Hooks as a 2007 Pillar of Excellence. Footnotes See also List of African-American jurists List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Tennessee References David T. Beito and Linda Royster Beito, T.R.M. Howard: Pragmatism over Strict Integrationist Ideology in the Mississippi