Presidential Medal of Freedom 2024: Biden to award 19 politicians, activists, and others

United States President Joe Biden, on Friday (May 3) will present the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country’s highest civilian honour, to 19 people from various walks of life, said the White House.

The list of 19 prominent names includes 10 men and nine women from the world of politics, sports, entertainment, civil rights LGBTQ+ advocacy, and more.

The Democratic president will be honouring the 19 individuals “who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavors,” said the White House in a statement.

Three medals out of the 19, will be awarded posthumously.

Presidential Medal of Freedom 2024: Here is the list of 19 recipients

Michael Bloomberg

Bloomberg was the three-term former New York City Mayor and founder of a successful financial services company. He had briefly sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020.

Gregory Boyle

Boyle is a Jesuit Catholic priest and the founder of Homeboy Industries, the world’s largest gang intervention and rehabilitation program.

James Clyburn

Clyburn, a representative from the US state of South Carolina, had been a part of the House of Representatives for around three decades. He was also the former Assistant Democratic Leader and Majority Whip in the House. Clyburn stepped down from Democratic leadership in the chamber this year.

Elizabeth Dole

Former Republican Senator Dole had once served as transportation secretary and labour secretary and was president of the American Red Cross. She currently leads a foundation supporting military caregivers.

Phil Donahue

Donahue is a journalist and hosted “the first daytime talk show to feature audience participation and one of the most influential television programs of its time,” said the White House.

Medgar Wiley Evers (posthumous)

Evers will receive posthumous recognition for his work more than 60 years ago fighting segregation in Mississippi. He was also a World War II veteran and civil rights activist who was killed by a white supremacist in 1963, at the age of 37.

He served two terms as vice president to Bill Clinton. The Democrat and environmental activist had once won the popular vote in the 2000 presidential election but lost the race to George W Bush.

Clarence Jones

Jones is a prominent civil rights activist and lawyer who helped draft Martin Luther King Jr’s iconic speech “I Have a Dream”.

John Kerry

Kerry is a former Senator from Massachusetts who also served as the Secretary of State during the Obama administration and more recently as Biden’s climate envoy.

Frank Lautenberg (posthumous)

The Republican served five terms as the US Senator for New Jersey. He was also the longest-serving Senator in the state’s history.

Kathleen Ledecky

The swimmer has won seven Olympic gold medals and 21 world championship gold medals and is the most decorated female swimmer in history.

Opal Lee

An activist who is best known for pushing to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. Lee succeeded after Biden signed off on it in 2021.

Ellen Ochoa

She is the first Hispanic woman in space and the second female director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center.

Nancy Pelosi

Pelosi is the former House Speaker who also represented San Francisco for over 36 years. She led House Democrats for two decades and became the first woman elected speaker before she stepped down last year.

Jane Rigby

Rigby is the chief scientist of the world’s most powerful telescope from Delaware.

Teresa Romero

Romero is president of the United Farm Workers and the first Hispanic woman to lead a national union in the US.

Judy Shepard

Shepard co-founded an organisation to reduce hate crimes after her son, Matthew, was killed in a violent anti-gay attack in 1998.

James Thorpe (posthumous)

Thorpe was the first Native American to win an Olympic gold medal and later became a hall-of-fame football and baseball player.

Michelle Yeoh

Yeoh is a renowned actress who most recently became the first Asian to win the Academy Award for Best Actress for her film “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”

(With inputs from agencies)