Civil Rights Museum to honor Gore, King

MEMPHIS, Oct. 27 (UPI) -- Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and bluesman B.B. King are being honored by the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, officials say.

Gore, King and Diane Nash, co-founder in 1960 of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, are to be honored Tuesday with the Museum's 2008 International Freedom Award, The Memphis Commercial Appeal reported Monday.

Gore, who received the Nobel Peace Prize last year, is being honored for his work to educate people about man-made climate change, while King is being honored for paving the way for a generation of musicians who followed him, the Appeal reported.

Nash was 22 when she staged black sit-ins at white Nashville lunch counters, the Appeal reported, noting President John F. Kennedy appointed Nash to a committee that helped pass the 1964 Civil Rights Act.