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President Joe Biden will bestow the Presidential Medal of
Freedom to 19 of the most famous names in politics, sports,
entertainment, civil rights, LGBTQ+ advocacy and science.
The White House said the recipients have made “exemplary
contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the
United States, world peace, or other significant societal,
public or private endeavors.”
Four medals are to be awarded posthumously. They are going to
Fannie Lou Hamer, who founded the Mississippi Freedom Democratic
Party and laid the groundwork for the 1965 Voting Rights Act;
former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy; George W. Romney, who
served as both a Michigan governor and secretary of housing and
urban development; and Ash Carter, the former secretary of
defense.
Kennedy is father to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect
Donald Trump's nominee for health and human services secretary.
Romney is the father of former Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney,
one of Trump's strongest conservative critics.
Major philanthropists receiving the award include Spanish
American chef José Andrés, whose World Central Kitchen charity
has become one of the world's most recognized food relief
organizations, and Bono, the frontman for rock band U2 and a
social justice activist.
Sports and entertainment stars being recognized include
professional soccer player Lionel Messi; retired Los Angeles
Lakers basketball legend and businessman Earvin “Magic” Johnson;
actor Michael J. Fox, who is an outspoken advocate for
Parkinson’s disease research and development; and William
Sanford Nye, known to generations of students as “Bill Nye the
Science Guy."
Other awardees include conservationist Jane Goodall; longtime
Vogue Magazine editor-in-chief Anna Wintour; American fashion
designer Ralph Lauren; American Film Institute founder George
Stevens Jr.; entrepreneur and LGBTQ+ activist Tim Gill; and
David Rubenstein, co-founder of The Carlyle Group global
investment firm.
Last year, Biden bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom on
19 people, including the late Medgar Evers, House Speaker
Emerita Nancy Pelosi, Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina and
actor Michelle Yeoh.
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