Civil rights activists Andrew Young, Vincent Harding and Dorothy Cotton will speak at the first Dorothy Cotton Institute Gala Dinner Tuesday, Dec. 10, when the three will receive Martin Luther King Jr. Awards from the Fellowship of Reconciliation. All three were supporters and friends of King.

Young has served as the mayor of Atlanta, as a congressman and as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. He was president of the National Council of Churches USA and was a member of the inner circle of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).

Harding is an African-American historian with a focus on American religion and society. He is perhaps best known for his work with and writings about King. The author of numerous books, Harding is a professor at the Illiff School of Theology in Denver.

Cotton was a leader of the civil rights movement, and as the SCLC’s educational director, she was the highest-ranked female member of the organization.

The gala, which also celebrates International Human Rights Day and benefits the Dorothy Cotton Institute (an affiliate of the Center For Transformative Action at Cornell), begins at 6 p.m. in the ballroom at the Trip Hotel (formerly the Clarion), One Sheraton Drive, with a reception and cash bar featuring live R&B jazz by Fe Nunn and Friends and dinner at 7 p.m., followed by speakers and entertainment. Tickets are $125 a plate and are available from DCI/Center For Transformative Action, P.O. Box 321, Ithaca, NY 14851, or from tfckirby@aol.com to pay online. Call 607-277-3401 for more information.

The program will include the presentation of the 2013 Fellowship of Reconciliation Martin Luther King Jr. Awards, with remarks from Young, Harding and Cotton. Cal Walker, Cornell’s outreach liaison to the Ithaca City School District, will serve as master of ceremonies.

Other entertainment includes the Dorothy Cotton Institute Jubilee Singers performing spirituals and freedom songs. The institute is an education and resource center to develop leaders for a global human rights movement and “promotes practices that transform individuals and communities, opening new pathways to peace, justice and healing,” according to its website.

International Human Right Day stems from the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948.