Major League Baseball (MLB) today announced that Hall of Famer Frank Robinson, Emmy and Grammy Award-winning actress Ruby Dee and the late Johnson Publishing founder John H. Johnson are the recipients of the second annual MLB Beacon Awards. 

The Awards, given to individuals for their efforts on behalf of civil rights throughout the world, will be presented on March 28, 2008, at a dinner following the Baseball & The Civil Rights Movement roundtable discussion in Memphis.

San Francisco radio personality and Giants public address announcer Renel Brooks-Moon will serve as mistress of ceremonies for the MLB Beacon Awards Banquet.  Dr. Joseph Lowery, civil rights pioneer, will serve as the keynote speaker. 

Serving his community for over forty-five years, Lowery headed the Alabama Civil Affairs Association, which was committed to ending the segregation of public places and transportation.   Along with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., he founded the legendary Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957. 

Special video tributes to White Sox legend Minnie Miñoso and Hall of Famer Hank Aaron are scheduled as part of the dinner’s events as well as a performance from the LeMoyne-Owen College choir.    

Major League Baseball also announced today that AutoZone has returned as the title sponsor for this year’s game which will be televised live on ESPN (also available on ESPN HD). 

The 2008 Civil Rights Game between the Chicago White Sox and the New York Mets will be played at 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 29, 2008.