Meghan Markle, Black Voters Matter co-founder receiving Ms. Foundation’s Women of Vision Award

The nation's oldest women's foundation is marking its 50th anniversary on May 16 in New York City during its annual gala.

NEW YORK (AP) — Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, will be in New York Tuesday night, along with Black Voters Matter co-founder LaTosha Brown, to receive the Ms. Foundation’s Women of Vision Award, as the nation’s oldest women’s foundation marks its 50th anniversary.

The appearance is set to be her first public event since she skipped the coronation of her father-in-law King Charles III earlier this month in order to stay at home in California for her son Prince Archie’s fourth birthday. Her husband Prince Harry attended the coronation in London and then rushed back to California.

Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, arrives April 15, 2022, at the Invictus Games
Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, arrives April 15, 2022, at the Invictus Games venue in The Hague, Netherlands. Meghan will be in New York Tuesday, May 16, 2023, along with Black Voters Matter co-founder LaTosha Brown, to receive the Ms. Foundation’s Women of Vision Award, as the nation’s oldest women’s foundation marks its 50th anniversary. (Photo by Peter Dejong/AP Photo, File)

Funds raised at the foundation’s annual gala at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in Manhattan will be used to further the organization’s equity-centered initiatives and its mission of advancing women’s collective power.

The foundation will also honor Wanda Irving, co-founder of Dr. Shalon’s Maternal Action Project, and Kimberly Inez McGuire, executive director of URGE, as well as abortion rights activist Olivia Julianna and LGBTQ+ advocate Rebekah Bruesehoff.

Teresa C. Younger, Ms. Foundation president and CEO, said in a statement that the honorees will be celebrated for “their many accomplishments and tireless work on behalf of gender and racial equity across the country and the world.”

Co-founder Black Voters Matter LaTosha Brown
Co-founder of Black Voters Matter LaTosha Brown speaks as other voting rights activists listen during a “Rally for D.C. Statehood,” the last stop of BVM’s “Freedom Ride for Voting Rights” bus tour, at the National Mall June 26, 2021, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Gloria Steinem, Ms. Foundation co-founder, will present Meghan the award for “her global advocacy to empower and advocate on behalf of women and girls.” Meghan and Prince Harry direct their philanthropy through their Archewell Foundation, which provided nearly 13 million COVID-19 vaccines with partner Global Citizen and helped resettle nearly 175,000 refugees from Ukraine and Afghanistan in the United States with partner Welcome.US, according to its 2022 annual report.

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