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Obama will present recipients including rocker Bruce
Springsteen, Motown soul singer Diana Ross, former basketball
champions Michael Jordan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and actors Tom
Hanks, Robert De Niro and Robert Redford with the medal at a
White House ceremony on Nov. 22, the White House said on
Wednesday.
"The Presidential Medal of Freedom is not just our nation's
highest civilian honor - it's a tribute to the idea that all of
us, no matter where we come from, have the opportunity to change
this country for the better," Obama said in a statement.
The medal is given annually to people who have made outstanding
contributions to the security or national interests of the
United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other
significant public or private endeavors.
This year's roster also includes Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates
and his wife Melinda for their philanthropic foundation, TV talk
show host Ellen DeGeneres, veteran actress Cicely Tyson,
architect Frank Gehry and baseball broadcaster Vin Scully.
The group also includes several not so well known Americans,
such as late Native American community leader Elouise Cobell and
NASA moon landing computer scientist Margaret H. Hamilton.
Obama leaves office in January after eight years, following the
election of Republican businessman Donald Trump.
Previous recipients of the medal from Obama include baseball
champion Yogi Berra, singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, director
Steven Spielberg and former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine
Albright.
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Sandra Maler)
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