The University of West Alabama’s Center for the Study of the Black Belt (CSBB) is now accepting nominations for the 2014 Black Belt Hall of Fame induction.

The mission of the Black Belt Hall of Fame is to recognize and honor those associated with the Black Belt who have had a positive impact on the region, the state, the nation and the world through contributions in art, business, education, industry, medicine, politics, law and science.

Those to be considered for induction may be living or deceased. Inductees must have either been born in the Black Belt, spent a significant amount of time in the Black Belt, and/or had a significant impact on the Black Belt specifically.

“We were pleased to induct educator Dr. Robert Brown, artist and writer Dorothy Altman “Tut” Riddick, and the late paleontologist Josie Winifred “Winnie” McGlamery in 2013,” said Valerie Burnes, Director of the CSBB.

The three joined previous inductees, the late author Mary Thomas Ward Brown; the late educator and researcher George Washington Carver, the late musician Willie Earl King, the late storyteller Kathryn Tucker Windham, educator William James Edwards and folksinger Vera Hall.

“There are deserving individuals that have distinguished themselves as significant contributors to and supporters of the culture and people of the Black Belt region,” Burnes said. “We are excited to begin the process of accepting nominations for 2014 in order to recognize more outstanding individuals.”

The Black Belt Hall of Fame nomination form is available online www.centerforblackbelt.org. The deadline for nomination submissions is Friday, Aug. 30, 2013.

For more information, contact Valerie Burnes at 205-652-3829 or vburnes@uwa.edu. Submissions may also be mailed to the Center for the Study of the Black Belt, UWA Station 45, Livingston, AL, 35470.