JFK award given to Egypt activist, NC advocate

May 23, 2011 at 1:06p.m.

BOSTON (AP) — Caroline Kennedy has presented Profile in Courage awards to a Google executive who launched a Facebook page that sparked protests in Egypt and a North Carolina school board member who fought redistricting over racial segregation concerns.

Kennedy gave the awards Monday to Wael Ghonim and Elizabeth Redenbaugh.

Ghonim’s Facebook page played a role in organizing the protests that led to the ouster this year of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Redenbaugh, elected to the New Hanover County school board in 2008, stood in opposition to a redistricting plan she feared would lead to racial segregation of middle schools.

The Kennedys created the honor to recognize the work of elected public servants. President John F. Kennedy won a Pulitzer Prize for his book “Profiles in Courage” in 1957.