The Zachary Cornell Husser Prize for Community Engagement and Empowerment

The Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies (AAADS) and the Zachary Husser Endowment Committee are pleased to announce the
2021 Zachary Cornell Husser Prize for Community Engagement and Empowerment winner.

The Husser Prize recognizes an undergraduate student registered at any school of Columbia University who has made enduring contributions to promoting social justice for Black people through political activism and community building on campus and beyond. The prize honors Zachary Husser (CC ’70) who, as a student at Columbia, made critical and lasting contributions to the struggle for racial justice on campus and in Harlem during the 1968 student revolt and continued to work tirelessly for Black community empowerment until his passing in 2018.

The 2021 Husser Prize winner is Haley M.S. Lucas, Columbia College class of 2022.

Haley M.S. Lucas is a senior  at Columbia College. She is a major in African American & African Diaspora Studies with a concentration in Educational Studies.
The Husser Prize committee was very impressed with the wide range of activities Haley has undertaken during her time here at Columbia.

In addition to her work as a tutor in Harlem elementary schools with the America Reads program, she has done exemplary work with the Caribbean Students Association (CSA) on LGBTQ+ advocacy, hurricane relief and food insecurity. She was instrumental in the creation of CSA’s Safe Space Statement in response to instances of sexual assault on campus in order to ensure a safe space for all students on campus and Black students in particular.

Please enjoy Zachary Husser Tribute Video  created by Leah Scott & Andre Jones
https://youtu.be/3BAHDV8RZfk