Ignacio Acevedo Receives 2025 Beth Rickey Award from the Bard Center for the Study of Hate
The Bard Center for the Study of Hate is pleased to announce that Ignacio Acevedo, a 2025 Bard College graduate with a degree in Human Rights, is the winner of the 2025 Beth Rickey Award. The award recognizes a member of Bard's international community who has taken sustained and effective action against hate through their scholarship, adding to our understanding of how hatred works, or their actions, such as public advocacy and community organizing.
The annual Beth Rickey Award is given in memory of Elizabeth “Beth” Rickey, who died on September 12, 2009. Rickey was a Republican State Committeewoman in Louisiana. Politically conservative, Rickey was appalled when neo-Nazi and former Klansman David Duke won elected office and devastated that many of her fellow Republicans in state government welcomed Duke into their midst. She made it her mission to expose Duke, following him to meetings with other white supremacists, showing that he continued to sell Mein Kampf and Holocaust-denying material from his legislative office.
“In recent years, and especially since this past January, we've seen increased attacks on immigrants and on civil rights and liberties,” said Kenneth S. Stern ’75, director of the Bard Center for the Study of Hate and a friend of Rickey’s. “Beth would have appreciated Ignacio’s strategic thinking, effective organizing, and deep knowledge of the immigrant community, all reflected in his dedication and hard work to help fellow human beings victimized by hate."
Ignacio Acevedo is Hudson Valley organizer with the New York Civil Liberties Union, where he works alongside immigrant communities to defend civil and human rights through education and policy advocacy. Before joining the NYCLU, he worked on a multi-year campaign to expand municipal ID and driver’s license access across New York State. He also co-founded Las Mejores Huellas de los Inmigrantes, a grassroots initiative empowering immigrants across the region.
Acevedo was a driving force in New York’s Green Light campaign, which restored access to driver’s licenses regardless of immigration status—a victory he championed as both strategist and spokesperson. Today, through his work at the NYCLU and as a community leader, he brings the same energy and commitment to ensuring the rights of all immigrants are respected and defended.
Post Date: 09-12-2025
The annual Beth Rickey Award is given in memory of Elizabeth “Beth” Rickey, who died on September 12, 2009. Rickey was a Republican State Committeewoman in Louisiana. Politically conservative, Rickey was appalled when neo-Nazi and former Klansman David Duke won elected office and devastated that many of her fellow Republicans in state government welcomed Duke into their midst. She made it her mission to expose Duke, following him to meetings with other white supremacists, showing that he continued to sell Mein Kampf and Holocaust-denying material from his legislative office.
“In recent years, and especially since this past January, we've seen increased attacks on immigrants and on civil rights and liberties,” said Kenneth S. Stern ’75, director of the Bard Center for the Study of Hate and a friend of Rickey’s. “Beth would have appreciated Ignacio’s strategic thinking, effective organizing, and deep knowledge of the immigrant community, all reflected in his dedication and hard work to help fellow human beings victimized by hate."
Ignacio Acevedo is Hudson Valley organizer with the New York Civil Liberties Union, where he works alongside immigrant communities to defend civil and human rights through education and policy advocacy. Before joining the NYCLU, he worked on a multi-year campaign to expand municipal ID and driver’s license access across New York State. He also co-founded Las Mejores Huellas de los Inmigrantes, a grassroots initiative empowering immigrants across the region.
Acevedo was a driving force in New York’s Green Light campaign, which restored access to driver’s licenses regardless of immigration status—a victory he championed as both strategist and spokesperson. Today, through his work at the NYCLU and as a community leader, he brings the same energy and commitment to ensuring the rights of all immigrants are respected and defended.
Post Date: 09-12-2025