The Marcia Herndon Prize is allotted to those who focus on the studies of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and two-spirit communities.

Marcia Alice Herndon was born October 1, 1941, in Canton, North Carolina, close to where her grandparents lived.

[2][3] In 1962, Herndon graduated from H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College in New Orleans, now known as Tulane University, with a bachelor's degree in German.

[4] Although she also studied music, covering piano, voice, and organ, Herndon completed her master's degree in German at Tulane University in 1964.

[2][4][6] Her doctoral thesis, under the direction of Norma McLeod, focused on the impact of Maltese music upon the religion and politics of the country.

[7]: xiii  While teaching in Texas, Herndon developed a course which returned to her roots in country music and examined the genre from an anthropological perspective.

It also examined how the genre was used as a gateway for singers like Charley Pride and Johnny Rodriguez to gain acceptance in white society.

[4][5]: 129  She encouraged research into issues such as the demise of American community orchestras, censorship of lyrics, and the effects to hearing caused by amplified sound.

[5]: 129 Herndon continued working at the Music Research Institute, expanding it from its location in the San Francisco Bay Area by creating branches in Richmond, California and Hyattsville, Maryland.

Her duties for the church included administrating policies, counselling her congregations, officiating at weddings, and ordaining gay and lesbian priests.

Despite her desire for privacy surrounding her personal life,[5]: 131  Herndon was an active member of her community, focusing on the cultural issues of racial equality, sexual and gender diversity, and religious freedom and tolerance.

She encouraged academic cooperation rather than competition, and believed that cultural studies were imperative for a full understanding of global situations and catastrophic events, such as aggression, censorship, and ethics, as well as health, power, and war.

She examined symphony orchestras in New Orleans and Oakland and studied the jazz funerals of those African American carnival revelers known as Mardi Gras Indians.

Her contributions to the field included The Cherokee Ballgame Cycle: An Ethnomusicologists Viewpoint (1971) and Native American Music (1980).