Every year, the National Liberty Museum recognizes students around the country who stand up for others with our Young Heroes Award, sponsored by TD Bank. Every year, we recognize one student who has demonstrated responsibility and excellent  character with our President’s Honor Award. Our winner for 2009 was Van Morn, an amazing Philadelphian whose good works appear to be unstoppable.

Van had just completed his final year at Olney High School in Philadelphia, and now attends Thaddeus Stevens University.  He was nominated by Mrs. Elaine Steinbacher, his advisor for the Pennsylvania Congressional Awards Program.

Olney is a neighborhood in North Philadelphia with a rich history.  Originally rolling hills of farmland settled by German-Americans, Olney has become home to people from all over the world.  Its story is Philadelphia’s story.  The neighborhood, like most of the city, was hit hard by the deindustrialization of the 1960s and 70s. Factories closed down.  Businesses, and the jobs they offered, disappeared.  Crime rates went up.  Many people moved out.  In their place, new populations moved in: Vietnamese, Columbians, Koreans, African-Americans, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Laotians, Cambodians.  They saw the opportunity in this neighborhood.  They have worked hard and kept Olney alive, carrying on old traditions and starting new ones.

Van and his family are a part of this renewal.  He, his parents, and his two younger sisters moved from the country of Cambodia to the United States, in search of a promise.  His grandmother, who lost three children to the dictatorship of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, lives in California and took the family in.  She didn’t have enough room in her house.  It was not easy, but that was no deterrent.

Van grew up in a world of poverty, and his family worked hard every day to survive.  They only had enough to eat because his mother planted and cultivated crops when she wasn’t working.  “We are a surviving type of family,” Van says.

This time last year, he had a job, and was a full-time high school student, and faced the additional challenge of becoming a fluent English speaker.   Still, he volunteered your time to the less fortunate.  He gave his time to the Inglis House for Disabled Adults.  He initiated “clean-up-the-streets” programs in your neighborhood.  He even helped with the Pennsylvania Migrant Education Program, as their official photographer.

Van is the kind of person who sees the opportunities ahead of him, and reaches for them.  At the same time, he does his best to give other people an opportunity too.  He’s a hard worker, and an exceptional student, but the quality that best defines him is his gratitude.  He is happy to have been given a chance to succeed, and he can’t help but give back to everyone around him.

Van won the President’s Honor because he has proven himself to be a remarkable Young Hero.  We admire his can-do attitude, and for his refusal to give up.  We honored him for his giving nature and his commitment to others. He has already achieved so much, and now has a whole lifetime to build on those accomplishments and to inspire others.  Congratulations, Van!

The National Liberty Museum is home to a brand-new exhibit that features some amazing Heroes of Character.  In Liberty Hall, right near our wall of military decorations, we now have interactive touch-screen computers created by the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation.  They tell the stories of the more than 3400 people who have received our country’s highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor. You can look at the name of every single person ever given this medal, and videos of many of the surviving awardees.

One person whose story caught my eye is Duane Dewey. Up above is a picture of him and his wife in 2004. He served in the Marines as a corporal in the Korean War. In April 1952, twenty-year-old Corporal Dewey was in charge of a squad of Marines when an exploding grenade shot pieces of metal into his legs and buttocks. He cried out that he'd been hit, and a Navy medical corpsman rushed over to help. As he was lying there and getting treatment, Corporal Dewey saw another grenade land right next to him.

He grabbed it, thinking fast. He could throw it away, but he wasn't in a good position for that. He couldn't tell whether he'd be able to throw it far enough. If it exploded right by his men, he knew they might be injured or killed. What else could he do?

He did the only thing he could think of to protect everyone around him - he put the grenade underneath his own body. He managed to pull the medic down to the ground and shout, "Hit the dirt!" and then it detonated. The explosion was so strong that it lifted his body off of the ground. Because of his quick thinking and selflessness, no one else was injured, not even the medic right next to him.

He was wounded pretty badly, though. Because of the intense fighting going on around him, he had to wait a long time to be evacuated to a hospital. As he laid waiting, his thoughts turned to his wife and their baby daughter, whom he had never met - she was born after he shipped out. Even then, in pain and worried for his life, he was thinking about others. He remembers thinking, please, let my wife find a good dad for our daughter, and a good husband for herself.

After a long night, he was evacuated to a field hospital and underwent surgery. He got to meet his daughter and to be at home with the wife he loved. Today, he is a grandfather and a great-grandfather. President Eisenhower, when he gave him the Medal of Honor, remarked that he must have "a body made of steel." That's what makes this story so important – Corporal Dewey’s body wasn't indestructible. He could have been hurt, and he could have been killed, but still he opened himself up to great risk to protect other people.

Corporal Duane Dewey is a real Hero of Character!

Who's your Hero of Character? You still have time to send us your entries for our 2010 Caretoons Contest.  Mail your entry to us, or send it via email. For rules and an entry form, click here. Hurry, though - the deadline is April 15!

The Constitution of the United States gives Americans a lot of power.  Free speech means we can use our words to change the world.  Freedom of assembly means we can come together and join our voices and become a powerful group.

Those powers, like all powers, come with responsibility.  Because we live in a free country, that means that the government usually isn't going to tell us where the limits are.  We must set those limits ourselves, and make sure we're using our rights to help people and not to hurt them.

Recently, a group of Americans gathered outside of the U.S. Capitol.  They wanted to stand up for their rights and use their voices to influence the government.  During their protest, though, some of them allowed their anger to get the better of them.  Instead of using their words to make a point, they used them as weapons.  They shouted some really awful things, obscenities and insults, at members of Congress who they disagreed with.

Some of the worst things were shouted at members of the Congressional Black Caucus who walked by.  Rep. James Clyburn said, “I heard people saying things today I've not heard since March 15th, 1960, when I was marching.”

Rep. John Lewis, another veteran of the civil rights movement, agreed.  “It's okay, I've faced this before.  It reminded me of the '60s.  It was a lot of downright hate and anger and people being downright mean.”

Lewis has faced much worse than this, though.  Just like those protesters, he too once joined up with other citizens to change the world.  After hearing a speech by Dr. King, he joined the local sit-in movement in Nashville, TN.  Soon, he was organizing sit-ins and bus boycotts and became a Freedom Rider. 

The Freedom Riders' goal was to desegregate buses.  During a Freedom Ride in 1961, John Lewis entered a “Whites Only” waiting room at a Greyhound bus station.  A group of white men, led by a young KKK member named Elwin Wilson, attacked him.  Wilson wasn’t always a violent man.  His parents, he says, weren't bigots.  They tried to raise him right.  But growing up in the segregated South, he heard a lot of racist talk.  He began to listen to it and then to repeat it, and pretty soon he was throwing eggs and watermelons at civil rights protesters.  By the time John Lewis came to his town, Elwin Wilson had been turning his anger into violence for some time.

This wasn’t the first time Rep. Lewis had been hurt, and it wasn’t the last time.  Later, he was the leader of a famous march in 1965 in Selma, Alabama called “Bloody Sunday.”  Six hundred people got together to stand up for voting rights.  They had only marched a few blocks when they were attacked.  The Governor of Alabama had told police officers to stop the peaceful march.  The protesters were beaten with clubs and attacked with chemical gases.  The police beat John Lewis so badly that they broke his skull.  He still has the marks on his head today.

Rep. Lewis didn’t want all of this hatred to leave a mark on his heart, though.  He says, “Hate is too heavy a burden to bear.”  That’s why his career has been dedicated to finding peaceful solutions to conflict, and finding ways to turn pain and anger into positive change.

That man who beat him at the Greyhound bus station, Elwin Wilson, recently decided to turn his hate into something good.  He had been hurting people and saying awful things for decades, but one day he took a good look at himself, and he saw that he had the power to make things better.   This happened because a friend of his, a black man who had been his friend since childhood, invited him to church.  The mostly black congregation knew what Mr. Wilson had said and done in the past.  They recognized him, and still they welcomed him into their church.

Elwin Wilson, 72 years old, decided then and there to change his life.  He didn't want to lead a life of hate anymore.  But how could he begin to heal these decades-old wounds?   He returned to the places where he had thrown food or fists.  He started to apologize to people he had done wrong to.  When he found out one of his victims was now a member of Congress, he reached out to news reporters to see if they could help him contact Rep. Lewis.

Last year, they met for the first time since that day at the bus station.  “I’m so sorry about what happened back then,” said Mr. Wilson.  “I never thought I'd see the day when I'd find out who I'd beat up at the bus station.”

John Lewis looked him in the eye, and accepted the apology.  “It’s okay.  I forgive you.”  Rep. Lewis was as surprised as Mr. Lewis.  “I never thought this would happen.  It says something about the power of love, of grace, the power of the people being able to say, 'I'm sorry,' and move on.  And I deeply appreciate it.  It's very meaningful for me.”

Elwin Wilson is the first person to ask Rep. Lewis to forgive him for his hatred, but they both hope he won’t be the last.  Maybe those protesters outside the Capitol will hear the wise words of John Lewis, and use their powers to bring people together instead of driving them apart.

“We should have a capacity and ability to forgive,” he says.  “Love is much stronger than hate.”

Join us at the National Liberty Museum this Wednesday, March 8 for an evening inspired by the Free Library's "One Book, One Philadelphia."

We'll have Pulitzer Prize-Winning cartoonists Tony Auth and Signe Wilkinson on hand to discuss the use of cartoons in political commentary. The centerpiece for this discussion will be the recent circulation of Persepolis 2.0, in which two Iranian ex-patriots used images by graphic artist Marjane Satrapi to illustrate events surrounding the July 2009 Iranian election.

Philadelphia editorial cartoonist Tom Stiglich will moderate the event, which starts at 7:00 pm.

The event will also feature the National Liberty Museum's CareToons exhibit. Light refreshments will be served.

Space is limited!!!

Again, that's this Wednesday, March 10 at 7:00 pm. To RSVP, or for more information, contact Jan Griesemer at 215-925-2800 ext. 124 or jgriesemer@libertymuseum.org. We'll see you then!

We'd like to introduce you to another 2009 winner of our "Teacher as Hero" Awards, sponsored by State Farm®.

Barbara Murray-Dixon is a 2nd grade teacher at the Patton J. Hill School in Trenton, NJ, and has spent the last 30 years nurturing and caring for students in the Trenton Public School District. 

Her dedication knows no bounds.  She literally teaches day and night.  During the day, she meets the needs of some of New Jersey’s most vulnerable children in her classroom.  She is both loving and firm – there is no reason that her students cannot succeed; no reason that they will not meet and exceed district standards.  Outside of the classroom, she travels throughout the district to continue her teaching.  She meets students - some expelled, some suspended, and some gravely ill – directly in their homes.  No student lives too far, or in too rough of a neighborhood, for Barbara.  She coaches cheerleading and basketball, raises funds for schools and educators, and works with the Police Athletic League to prevent teen pregnancy.  She has done all of this while working toward her MBA and while battling a chronic illness.

Like all great educators, she does not waver in the face of challenges, no matter how big.  For 30 years, she has been the foundation upon which hundreds of students have built their futures. Congratulations, Barbara!

Bob Moore had a surprise on his birthday this February 15. The 81-year-old Hero of Character and founder of "Bob's Red Mill" organic foods received many gifts, but the surprise is what he gave away.

He announced that his company, which earns approximately $40 million per year, will soon belong to his employees. He's not retiring, though. He says, "I may have given them the company, but the boss part is still mine."

Mr. Moore started this company almost by accident. He was an electrical and mechanical engineer, not a miller. But he read a book about stone-grinding, the traditional method of milling grain, and something clicked for him. After his wife Charlee had begun to tell him about the benefits of whole-grain foods, they started milling their own grain.

Years later, they decided to retire. They moved to Oregon to relax and enjoy a life of leisure, but something in town caught Bob's eye. He was out for a walk one day, thinking, when he passed an abandoned mill.

Thirty years and four mills later, "Bob's Red Mill" is one of the biggest producers of organic whole-grain foods in the country. Their gluten-free products are a lifesaver for the millions of Americans who suffer from celiac disease. Eating even miniscule amounts of gluten, a protein in wheat and related grains, can make people with celiac disease very sick. Most food companies don't make gluten-free food. Bob has committed himself to these customers, and so they've committed themselves to "Bob's Red Mill."

The company has been growing at a fast pace year after year. Many companies have wanted to buy Bob's business, but he always refused. Even when they offered him more money than he had ever made in his life, he still said, "No."

"It’s been my dream all along to turn this company over to the employees," Bob said. "I get to spend every day with our many loyal and long-time employees who will now share in ownership." His company didn't succeed because of his hard work - it succeeded because of his hard work, AND the hard work of his millers, packagers, salespeople, and executives.

Bob wants them to enjoy the company's success as much as he has. In this age of lay-offs, mergers, and "Too Big to Fail," it's refreshing to see such a humble and fair businessman in action. But Bob doesn't want his good deeds to end there. Roger Farner, one of the employees and new owners, sees the greater plan. "Bob is basically passing the entrepreneurial torch on to his employees and is instilling in us [the idea] that hard work provides rewards."

That's what's so great about good deeds. When you do one, you're improving the world in your own way, and you're also inspiring others to improve the world in their way. Let's hear it for Bob Moore! If you have stories of inspiring Heroes of Character, please let us know. And if you'd like to learn about thousands of heroes from all over the world, come in to the National Liberty Museum. We're located at 321 Chestnut St., right in the heart of historic Old City Philadelphia. 10:00 am - 5:00 pm, Tuesday through Sunday.

If you'd like a guided tour of the museum, click here for more info.

One of our 2009 TD Bank Young Heroes Awards actually went out to a pair of Young Heroes, two cousins who worked together to help the sick.

Erika and Mike are a phenomenal pair who put their compassion, ingenuity and friendship into action. When two of their family members were diagnosed with breast cancer within 6 months of each other, they learned how much this disease can devastate a family.  Erika and Mike decided to take action.  They joined the American Cancer Society’s “Relay for Life” to raise money for the cause.

However, they realized that more work needed to be done. Although there are many charities that raise money to find a cure, there weren’t any that directly helped those receiving treatment. Women dealing with a diagnosis of breast cancer face many hardships. Hospital bills, transportation costs, and prescriptions add up very quickly. Some patients are single mothers, and time spent in treatment means less time at work and less money for the family.

So Erika and Mike each committed $500 of their own money to start a non-profit, “Breast Friends Forever.”  Recently, the B.F.F. Gala celebration raised $37,000 in one evening! These two Young Heroes used their heads, hearts, and hands to help out in a way that no one had ever done before. Bravo to these two Young Heroes!

Do you know any heroes, 18 years old or younger, who are doing some outstanding things in your school or community? Nominate them for a 2010 TD Bank Young Heroes Award. To see more of the 2009 TD Bank Young Heroes (and heroes of all ages), visit the National Liberty Museum! We're open Tuesday - Sunday, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.

On January 21, we held our annual "Teacher as Hero" Awards sponsored by State Farm®. Typically, this award recognizes individual heroism, but one of this year's awards went to a TEAM of educators.

Heroes never work in isolation.  All of us depend on others for support and encouragement.  It’s very rare, though, to see two heroes who complement one another so well, and who work to sustain each other through their shared efforts.  These two educators both serve communities in West Philadelphia. Ms. Breese teaches tenth through twelfth grades at Overbrook High School, and Mr. Reed teaches sixth grade at Beeber Middle School.

Although they are both busy serving the academic and emotional needs of their students, they commit their free time to professional growth, attending Teacher Institutes at places like Yale and the University of Pennsylvania.  Their hard work and perseverance does not go unnoticed.  The American Federation of Teachers selected Bonnee to discuss education reform with President Obama at a Town Hall meeting.  Samuel has raised over $50,000 in grants to teach students about their own cultural heritages, and about the cultural diversity of the world.  Improving education has been their mission, which is why they work so hard to expand the horizons of their students and to elevate the professional development of their peers.

Bonnee and Samuel have approached school reform on two fronts, working to change their institutions while also working to improve themselves.  Their dedication and selflessness are why we awarded them both the title of "Teacher as Hero."  They remind us that there is still much work to be done, and that we achieve our goals faster when we all work together.

Congratulations to this dynamic duo, and if you would like to see more of this year's "Teacher as Hero" Award winners, come visit us at the National Liberty Museum.

Hobbes: How come we play war and not peace?

Calvin: Too few role models.

Every year, the National Liberty Museum holds our Caretoon Contest in partnership with the L.W. Pierce Family Foundation. We started this program a few years ago, after a Danish newspaper printed some cartoons that offended many Muslims. When rioting and violence broke out in many countries around the world, we decided to harness the power of cartooning and use it for good, to build community, friendship, and peace.

Last year, we had entries from the U.S., France, China, Iran, and 33 other countries. This year, we're hoping the contest will become even more international. The theme for this year's Caretoon Contest is "Heroes of Character."

When I think of cartoons, international appeal, and heroes who show character, one person comes to mind - Bill Watterson.

Twenty-five years ago, he created an unassuming comic strip about a boy and his stuffed tiger. "Calvin and Hobbes" wasn't your run-of-the-mill comic strip, though. Mr. Watterson used it to talk about the things that are important to him, like creativity, passion, imagination, friendship and how tough it sometimes seems to lead a good, principled life. "We all have different desires and needs," he's said, "but if we don't discover what we want from ourselves and what we stand for, we will live passively and unfulfilled."

"Calvin and Hobbes" wasn't an instant success. He worked hard for five years before anyone bought it, drawing and submitting his cartoons and facing rejection each time. He's glad about that, because it taught him that money and success don't give our lives meaning. He endured those five years of struggle because he loved cartooning. So when the strip did catch on, he didn't care about the money.

At its peak, "Calvin and Hobbes" was carried in over 2,500 newspapers worldwide. His publisher wanted him to sell the rights to his characters so they could put them on lunchboxes and toys and all kinds of merchandise. He would've made millions upon millions of dollars from merchandise, but he didn't want to lose the heart and soul of the strip. As a result, he spent most of his career turning down offers of a lot of money.

Selling out, he said, isn't really selling out, but "buying into someone else's system of values, rules, and rewards."

For ten years, Bill Watterson gave the world his imagination, creativity, and his silliness. And then, when he had said everything he wanted to say, he stopped the strip. He could've made millions of dollars more by keeping the strip running, maybe even hiring other people to write it and draw it. That's what most other comic strip artists do. But to do that would go against his most cherished values.

Nowadays, he still loves making art. He and his father paint landscapes together in the woods, and he couldn't be happier with his decision. "We define ourselves by our actions. With each decision, we tell ourselves and the world who we are."

"Creating a life that reflects your values and satisfies your soul is a rare achievement."

Who is your Hero of Character? Write to us and let us know.

And to all you artists and budding artists out there, remember - we've extended the deadline for our Caretoon Contest to April 15! So sharpen your pencils, break out your watercolors, fire up your computer, or do whatever it is you do to make art, and create something that reflects your values. For rules, more information, or an entry form, click here.

And one last quote from that troublemaking six-year-old who was wise beyond his years:

Calvin: Things are never quite as scary when you've got a best friend.

Here's another winner of the National Liberty Museum's 2009 Young Heroes Award, sponsored by TD Bank. Every year, we recognize students who demonstrate responsibility and good character. For some of our Young Heroes, that means they volunteer their time to community service, or they work to defuse violence and bullying, or perhaps they raise awareness of important causes.

TJ is one of our 2009 Young Heroes, and he has really put his generosity into action, along with a lot of initiative and perseverance.  Almost single-handedly, he started a “Coaches Versus Cancer” fundraiser at his school.  He worked with the administration, the student government, the athletic directors, and the school district to found what is now an annual tradition. It wasn't always easy, but he let no obstacle hinder his vision or prevent him from reaching his goals. Because of his determination to meet with local college and professional sports teams, line up corporate sponsors, and organize raffles and donations, the event was a success – they raised $22,000 for cancer research!

Do you know any heroes, 18 years old or younger, who are doing some outstanding things in your school or community? Nominate them for a 2010 Young Heroes Award. To see more of the 2009 Young Heroes (and heroes of all ages), visit the National Liberty Museum! We're open Tuesday - Sunday, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.