Bob Hope was chosen by the New York City Council of Churches board of directors to receive their 1971 Family of Man Award. “His life has been devoted to bringing laughter and good will on a world level, and among men in the armed forces,” they stated. The council’s general assembly, however, voted to rescind the honor, noting Hope’s “uncritical endorsement of the military establishment and the Indochina war.” Hope graciously supported the decision to bestow the award instead on deceased civil rights leader Whitney Young (1921–1971), but insisted, “I won’t change my views because of criticism.”