Award for Kent Wong

From UCLA Newsroom: Kent Wong, who led the work of the UCLA Labor Center for over 30 years and now serves as the center’s project director for labor and community partnerships, was presented with the John Allen Buggs Leadership Award by the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission on Jan. 16 for his longtime human relations advocacy and leadership.

The recognition was part of the commission’s John Anson Ford Awards ceremony, an annual event that honors human relations champions throughout the county. In a press release on the awards, the commission lauded Wong for devoting “his entire adult life to bringing together workers and communities of all backgrounds to stand up for social justice, fair wages, and humane working conditions.”

“I am humbled to receive the John Allen Buggs Leadership Award,” Wong said during his video acceptance speech. “I am so fortunate to play a small role in this vibrant labor movement to advance worker rights, immigrant rights, human and civil rights.”

Under Wong’s leadership from 1992 to 2023, the UCLA Labor Center expanded its staff from 3 to 40 members, becoming nationally and internationally recognized for its efforts to advance worker justice. In 2021, with the support of state Sen. María Elena Durazo, the center secured funding from the Legislature to establish a permanent home in MacArthur Park and to name the historic building in honor of worker and civil rights icon Rev. James Lawson Jr...

Full story at https://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/ucla-kent-wong-honored-by-county-with-human-relations-award.