WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden on Friday honored civil rights icons such as the late Medgar Evers, prominent political leaders such as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. James Clyburn, and actor Michelle The Presidential Medal of Freedom was awarded to 19 people, including Mr. I agree.
Biden said the recipients of this nation’s highest civilian honor were “incredible people whose relentless curiosity, ingenuity, ingenuity and hope kept their faith in a better tomorrow alive.” Stated.
One of them, Clarence B. Jones, said in an interview that when he answered the phone and heard the person on the other end say he was from the White House, he thought a prankster might be on the line. Ta.
“I said, ‘Is this a joke or are you serious?'” Jones recalled. The caller swore he was serious and called with news that Biden wanted to award Jones a medal.
Mr. Jones, 93, was praised for his work in the civil rights movement. He is the lawyer who provided legal advice to Martin Luther King Jr. and helped write the opening chapters of the Bible. “I have a dream” speech King gave a speech at the Lincoln Memorial during the 1963 March on Washington.
The White House said recipients have “exemplified contributions to American prosperity, values, security, world peace, or other important social, public, or private endeavors.”
The 10 men and nine women come from the worlds of politics, sports, entertainment, civil rights, LGBTQ+ advocacy, science, and religion. Three medals were awarded posthumously.
The winners included seven politicians, including a former New York mayor and a philanthropist. michael bloombergformer senator Elizabeth Dole, climate activist, and former vice president al goreBiden’s former climate envoy john kellyformer Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D.N.J., who died in 2013, Democratic Congressman Clyburn of South Carolina, and pelosia Democratic congressman from California.
In his remarks, Biden acknowledged Clyburn’s claims. approval He won a landslide victory in South Carolina in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, clinching the party’s nomination and ultimately the White House. Bloomberg has launched a brief bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.
“I can say this without fear of contradiction,” Biden said. “If it wasn’t for Jim, I wouldn’t be standing here as president accepting these awards. I mean it with all my heart.”
In addition to representing North Carolina in the Senate, Ms. Dole, the widow of former Sen. Bob Dole, also served as secretary of transportation and labor, and as president of the American Red Cross. She currently heads a foundation that supports military caregivers.
Pelosi is the first and only woman elected to the Speaker’s post and second in line for presidential succession. Biden noted her accomplishments in Congress, noting her actions during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, saying, “History will remember you, Nancy, as the greatest Speaker of the House of Representatives. Probably.”
Evers More than 60 years ago, he was posthumously honored for his work fighting racism as the NAACP’s first colonel in Mississippi in the 1960s. He was 37 years old when he was shot to death in his driveway in June 1963. His daughter Leena, who was 8 years old when her father was killed, received his medal.
Yo Last year, she made history by becoming the first Asian woman to win the Academy Award for Best Actress. Everything, Anywhere, All at Once”
jim thorpeHe died in 1953 and was the first Native American to win an Olympic gold medal.
Co-founder: Judy Shepherd matthew shepard The foundation is named after her son, a 21-year-old gay University of Wyoming student who was beaten and tied to a fence in 1998.
“I was so touched,” Jones said after realizing what the caller had said.
“I’m 93 years old and have some health issues, but by the grace of God I was able to wake up this morning,” he told The Associated Press in a phone interview Thursday. “I look forward to whatever the White House wants me to do.”
Other medal winners include:
— Gregory Boyle, a Jesuit Catholic priest who founded and runs Homeboy Industries, a gang intervention and rehabilitation program.
— Phil Donahue, journalist and former daytime television talk show host.
— katie ledeckythe most decorated female swimmer in history.
— Opal Lee, an activist best known for pushing for Juneteenth to become a federal holiday. Biden did so in 2021.
— Ellen Ochoa, the first Hispanic woman in space and the second female director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center.
— Jane Rigby, astronomer and chief scientist of the world’s most powerful telescope. She grew up in Biden’s home state of Delaware.
— Teresa Romero, President united farm workers The union supported Biden’s reelection bid and endorsed him in 2020.
In 2022, Biden awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 17 people, including gymnasts. Simone Bilesthe late Sen. John McCain Arizona Republican Party, gun control supporter gabby giffords.
Biden knows what it feels like to receive a medal.barack obama as president presented Biden.the vice president received the medal a week before his administration ended in 2017.
