Local 21 Illinois Member: A Profile in Courage

Dean Koldenhoven, a bricklayer and former mayor of a Chicago suburb, and the world’s top-ranking diplomat from Ghana, Kofi Annan, shared center stage as each received the prestigious John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for extraordinary valor in public service. The awards ceremony was held on May 6 at the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston.

21 IL member Dean Koldenhoven, right center, with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, left center, receive the JFK Profile in Courage Award at the Kennedy Library. From left, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Annan, Koldenhoven, and Caroline Kennedy.

Koldenhoven, a 48-year member of Local 21 Illinois and former Mayor of Palos Heights was recognized for his stance against religious intolerance on behalf of an Islamic community during his one term. United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan was acknowledged for his global efforts to fight terrorism, protect human rights, and raise awareness of the AIDS epidemic. The thousands of public servants who responded with bravery and fortitude to the events of September 11th were also honored with a special public service award, which was presented to representatives of the New York Police and Fire Departments, the U.S. Army, and the Brookline (Massachusetts) Fire Department, who accepted on behalf of their colleagues.

The Profile in Courage Award, sponsored by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, is presented annually to a public servant who fights for what he or she believes in, even in the face of powerful community or constituent opposition. The award is named for John F. Kennedy’s 1957 Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Profiles in Courage, about eight U.S. Senators who risked their political careers rather than compromise their beliefs.

Tearing Down the Walls of Religious Intolerance

Members of the Koldenhoven family at a formal dinner held the evening before the awards ceremony.

Dean Koldenhoven was recognized for his support in May 2000 of a local Islamic foundation’s right to purchase a vacant church in Palos Heights in order to turn it into a mosque and school. Koldenhaven, then Mayor of Palos Heights, recalls his reaction at the time, “I thought that it was and should have been a simple real estate transaction that would be reported in the local newspaper.” Just the reverse was the case, however. Opposition to the sale grew steadily among residents and City Council members, who suddenly championed buying the vacant church for use as a city recreation center, although a similar proposal had died in committee two years earlier. Officials then tried to block the issuance of renovation licenses to the foundation. When all else failed, the Council proposed a payoff in the amount of $250,000 to the Islamic community if they would agree to back out of the sale, which Koldenhoven described as an “embarrassment and an insult” to the group.

The final decision, however, was Koldenhoven’s. He stood by his principles, and vetoed the payoff scheme, saying at the time, “the government had NO place in this matter.” He described his veto as “a no-brainer…the decision was easy. You don’t need to think it over. You know what’s wrong, so you know what is right.” Unfortunately, the foundation decided not to proceed with the purchase. And Kolden-hoven lost his re-election bid in the fall of 2001.

The awards ceremony and related events were rich in purpose and humor. Koldenhoven and his wife Ruth were joined at the event by their four children and their families. When Library Foundation Chair Paul G. Kirk, Jr. introduced the Koldenhoven family and asked them to stand, he joked, “This is a first. There are more Koldenhovens here than Kennedys!” Kirk, a former Chair of the Democratic National Committee, also acknowledged Koldenhoven’s party affiliation at a dinner held the previous evening. “We had to go to Illinois to find a Republican bricklayer, since we don’t have any in Massachusetts,” said Kirk.

Dean Koldenhoven, center, proudly displays his Profile in Courage Award with wife Ruth, and BAC Executive Vice President and fellow Local 21 IL member Ken Lambert, right.

As the formal proceedings got underway, Senator Edward M. Kennedy praised Koldenhoven’s actions, saying, “Mayor Koldenhoven held firm to his principles with unwavering resolve and honored our history, his own deep faith, and our Bill of Rights. This man of such fundamental decency has been a member of the bricklaying profession all his life. He has built many strong walls. But as he showed us, the dangerous walls of religious intolerance between our fellow citizens are walls that must be torn down. He is truly a Profile in Courage.”

Upon receiving the award, an elegant crystal and metal lantern produced by Tiffany’s, Koldenhoven turned to his wife, Ruth, and said, “I told you to stick with me and that someday, you’d get something special from Tiffany’s!” On a more serious note, Koldenhoven then generously recounted the contributions of fellow recipient Kofi Annan, and of the award’s namesake, President Kennedy. He also made a touching reference to his son Don, who died of cancer at the age of 35 at the height of the controversy. “This award has special meaning for Don’s memory. As Caroline [Kennedy] has said, ‘after people die, they really do live on through those who love them.’”

In his acceptance remarks, Koldenhoven also said, “I am in awe of this whole event.” That may have been true. But as a member of the awards selection committee said afterward of the BAC bricklayer, “It’s we who are in awe of him.”

A chapter on Dean Koldenhoven can be found in the newly published book, Profiles in Courage for Our Time, edited by Caroline Kennedy. It is available in bookstores everywhere.