Former Ohio Congressman Louis Stokes is presented APA’s Solomon Carter Fuller Award by Michelle Clark, M.D., chair of APA’s Committee of Black Psychiatrists. The award, established in 1969 and named for Solomon Carter Fuller, M.D., the first African-American psychiatrist, is given each year at APA’s annual meeting in recognition of an individual who has pioneered in an area that has benefited significantly the quality of life for African Americans. Stokes retired from Congress after 30 years of service in which he had fought relentlessly for civil rights, equality, and social justice. He was the founder and chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Health Brain Trust and a member of the Pepper Commission on Comprehensive Health Care.

William B. Lawson, M.D., is presented the Jeanne Spurlock Minority Fellowship Achievement Award by Irma Bland, M.D., the award’s first recipient. This award is presented to an alumna/alumnus of the minority fellowships (APA/NIMH, APA/CMHS, or APA/AstraZeneca) who has made significant contributions to psychiatry and/or minority and underserved populations. Lawson is a former APA/NIMH fellow and chairs the department of psychiatry at Howard University School of Medicine. He is also the training director and chair of the Section of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences of the National Medical Association. He has written on severe mental illness and its relationship to psychopharmacology, substance abuse, and racial and ethnic issues and is a vocal advocate for severely mentally ill people and their access to treatment.