Chinese-American activist and philosopher Grace Lee Boggs was awarded the 2014 Chora Prize by the non-profit arts organization Metabolic Studio in recognition of her contributions to social justice and the civil rights movement.

She was given the award for helping transform the city of Detroit, where the 99-year-old lived most of her life, the non-profit said. "Through decades of dramatic change in the city of Detroit, Grace Lee Boggs has been a grounding force for the activist community," said Metabolic Studio director Lauren Bon in a Dec 23 statement.

"Her work has touched countless individuals, especially young people looking for ways to transform their communities," she added. "At nearly 100 years old, she remains committed to asking questions - challenging us not only to criticize the way things are, but also to create new models for the way things could be. Her life's work helps us understand crisis as an opportunity to create a more just and democratic society."

Boggs still lives in Detroit today. Her most recent community efforts include founding the James and Grace Lee Boggs School, a charter academy launched in 2013 and named after Boggs and her husband. The K through 5 school serves about 80 students in a predominantly black neighborhood, and promotes strong relations between teachers and students while encouraging high-levels of critical thought, according to the school's website.

In 1995, the Boggs Center to Nurture Community Leadership was created to organize individuals and organizations dedicated to producing sustainable communities.

"Our mission is to nurture the transformational leadership capacities of individuals and organizations committed to creating productive, sustainable, ecologically responsible, and just communities," the center says on its website. "Through local, national and international networks of activists, artists and intellectuals, we foster new ways of living, being and thinking to face the challenges of the 21st century."

Lee, born in 1915 in Rhode Island to Chinese immigrant parents, has been involved in political work all through her life. She received a bachelor of arts from Barnard College in New York after having grown up in New York City's Queens and received a PhD in philosophy from Bryn Mawr College in 1940.

Boggs met and married political activist James Boggs in 1953, collaborating with him on Detroit-related community activism. She remained married to him until his death in 1993.

"Today, Boggs continues to devote her life to the struggle to stretch our humanity toward revolution, which she defines as the ability to transform oneself to transform the world," the Metabolic Studio said. "The Metabolic Studio grant recognizes this outstanding individual whose lifelong work serves as a beacon for others to continue to nurture the creation of productive, sustainable, ecologically responsible, and just communities."

Boggs wrote books on a number of topics, ranging from American philosopher George Herbert Mead to women's involvement in American activism in the 20th century.

"Our challenge, as we enter the new millennium, is to deepen the commonalities and the bonds between these tens of millions, while at the same time continuing to address the issues within our local communities by two-sided struggles that not only say 'no' to the existing power structure but also empower our constituencies to embrace the power within each of us to crease the world anew," Boggs wrote in her 2012 book The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First Century.

amyhe@chinadailyusa.com