The Los Angeles Press Club has nominated Justin Chapman as a finalist for the 57th annual Southern California Journalism Awards for his feature story in the December 25, 2014, issue of the Pasadena Weekly about Joan Williams finally riding in the Rose Parade nearly 60 years after being denied due to her race.
Williams was selected as Miss Crown City 1958, a Rose Queen-like honor at the time. She was supposed to ride on a City of Pasadena float in the Rose Parade that year. When city officials discovered she was African American, however, they canceled the float and denied her the ride in the parade, along with other perks she was supposed to receive. In November 2013, Justin broke her story in PW. A year later Tournament of Roses officials offered her a spot on the lead float in the 2015 Rose Parade, and then-Mayor Bill Bogaard issued a formal apology to her. Justin's nominated story, "Justice on Parade," explains how that offer came to be:
www.pasadenaweekly.com/cms/story/detail/justice_on_parade/13939/
The LA Press Club awards ceremony will be held Sunday, June 28, from 4:30 to 9 p.m. at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. Here is a list of all the finalists:
www.lapressclub.org/Resources/Documents/SoCal_Finalists_2015_Upd.pdf
Here is some coverage of the nominations by the Pasadena Weekly:
www.pasadenaweekly.com/cms/story/detail/congratulations_one_and_all/14565/