Myrtle Faye Rumph, co-founder of the Al Wooten Jr. Heritage Center in South Los Angeles, accepts her Citizens Medal award, the nation’s second-highest civilian honor, from President Barack Obama.
Rumph and her husband Harris created the youth center in 1989 following the drive-by shooting death of her son in 1989. The Inglewood couple sold their home to finance the after-school program and study center, which provides a safe haven and intervention programs for South Central Los Angeles youth.
Earlier this year, Rumph also received the Spirit of Peace Award from the Stop the Violence Increase the Peace Foundation, which honors extraordinary individuals and organizations who have been dedicated to the work of ending the cycle of violence in urban communities, originally established in 1969.
