David Winner, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown board president, presents the congregation’s 2026 T. Richard Parker Award for Social Justice to Justin Hubbard, founder and leader of the Jamestown Justice Coalition.

Justin Hubbard received the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown’s (UUCJ) 2026 T. Richard Parker Award for Social Justice recently.

Board President David Winner made the presentation for Hubbard’s founding and leadership of the Jamestown Justice Coalition.

A civics teacher at Salamanca High School, Hubbard received the national American Civic Education Teacher Award in 2022. He has been a panelist, presenter and keynote speaker for a variety of organizations including the NYS Bar Association, NYS Education Department Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Columbia University Teachers College, and many others. The Jamestown Community College graduate earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from SUNY Fredonia.

The service included a reading of Robert F. Kennedy’s “Let No Man be Discouraged.” Board Treasurer Ben Haskin gave a brief history of the Parker Award, established in 1985 as a memorial to T. Richard Parker, a leader of what was known as the Unitarian Church of Jamestown who died suddenly. Haskin also shared “Social Justice as a UU Religious Value.”

Church members Jeffrey Victor and Leonard Faulk were recognized as the originators of the Parker Award.

After receiving the award and the check that accompanied it, Hubbard shared his personal history and values. He described how the Black Lives Matter rally in Jamestown’s Dow Park in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd motivated him to start the Jamestown Justice Coalition. Hubbard noted family, friends and the leaders who have inspired and supported him.

Members of Hubbard’s family and the Jamestown Justice Coalition joined in the recognition and reception that followed.

A list of all Parker Award recipients can be found at UUJamestown.org/ParkerAward.

Located at 1255 Prendergast Ave., the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown is a progressive, liberal religious community serving the southern tier of Western New York and Warren County, Pa. Learn more about the UUCJ at UUJamestown.org and on their Facebook page, Facebook.com/JamestownUU. For information on the Jamestown Justice Coalition, visit their website at JamestownJusticeCoalition.org or follow on Facebook.com/JamestownJusticeCoalition.