Omer Omer, who lives and works in Greensboro as Executive Director of African Services Coalition, received the award for race relations. Like Omer, a former journalist who had to flee Sudan, many of the refugees from Africa came to Greensboro to escape their native war-torn countries. And therein lies a monumental challenge that Omer has proved astute in handling. The diversity among the African immigrants includes ethnic, religious, and political differences that in their home countries were the catalyst for conflict, strife, and war.

At African Services Coalition, Omer has worked to bring the groups together and help them begin to understand one another, help them heal some of these wounds, and help them to see commonalities rather than differences. Persons whose native countries, tribes and religions were at war with each other in Africa are now working side by side to assist new refugees and immigrants. His vision and negotiating skills enable these diverse newcomers to work and live together.

Omer also has been skillful in building coalitions with existing African-American communities. In doing so, he has overcome a perception that the African-American and African communities have little in common.

Omer, now a U.S. citizen, also has faced hostility and criticism because he is a Muslim, including being criticized by some from his own religion because of his willingness to work with so many diverse groups.