WASHINGTON,
DC – Today, President Barack Obama named 21 recipients of the
Presidential Medal of Freedom. The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the
Nation’s highest civilian honor, presented to individuals who have made
especially meritorious contributions to the security or national
interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other
significant public or private endeavors. The awards will be presented at
the White House on November 22.
President Obama
said, "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. From scientists, philanthropists, and public servants
to activists, athletes, and artists, these 21 individuals have helped
push America forward, inspiring millions of people around the world
along the way."
This event will be streamed live at: www.whitehouse.gov/live.
The following individuals will be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom:
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem
Abdul-Jabbar is the National Basketball Association’s all-time leading
scorer who helped lead the Los Angeles Lakers to five championships and
the Milwaukee Bucks to another. During his career, Abdul-Jabbar was a six-time NBA Most Valuable Player and a 19-time NBA All-Star. Before
joining the NBA, he was a star player at UCLA, leading the Bruins to
three consecutive championships. In addition to his legendary basketball
career, Abdul-Jabbar has been an outspoken advocate for social justice.
Elouise Cobell (posthumous)
Elouise
Cobell was a Blackfeet Tribal community leader and an advocate for
Native American self-determination and financial independence. She used
her expertise in accounting to champion a lawsuit that resulted in a
historic settlement, restoring tribal homelands to her beloved Blackfeet
Nation and many other tribes, and in so doing, inspired a new
generation of Native Americans to fight for the rights of others.
Cobell helped found the Native American Bank, served as director of the
Native American Community Development Corporation, and inspired Native
American women to seek leadership roles in their communities.
Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen
DeGeneres is an award-winning comedian who has hosted her popular
daytime talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, since 2003 with her
trademarked humor, humility, and optimism. In 2003 Ellen lent her voice
to a forgetful but unforgettable little fish named Dory in Finding Nemo. She reprised her role again in 2016 with the hugely successful Finding Dory.
Ellen also hosted the Academy Awards twice, in 2007 and 2014. In 1997,
after coming out herself, DeGeneres made TV history when her character
on Ellen revealed she was a lesbian. In her work and in her life, she
has been a passionate advocate for equality and fairness.
Robert De Niro
Robert
De Niro has brought to life some of the most memorable roles in
American film during a career that spans five decades. His first major
film roles were in the sports drama Bang the Drum Slowly and Martin Scorsese's crime film Mean Streets. He is a seven-time Academy Award nominee and two-time Oscar winner, and is also a Kennedy Center honoree.
Richard Garwin
Richard
Garwin is a polymath physicist who earned a Ph.D. under Enrico Fermi at
age 21 and subsequently made pioneering contributions to U.S. defense
and intelligence technologies, low-temperature and nuclear physics,
detection of gravitational radiation, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI),
computer systems, laser printing, and nuclear arms control and
nonproliferation. He directed Applied Research at IBM’s Thomas J. Watson
Research Center and taught at the University of Chicago, Columbia
University, and Harvard University. The author of 500 technical papers
and a winner of the National Medal of Science, Garwin holds 47 U.S.
patents, and has advised numerous administrations.
Bill and Melinda Gates
Bill
and Melinda Gates established the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
in 2000 to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing
countries, the foundation focuses on improving people's health and
giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme
poverty. In the United States, the mission is to ensure that all
people—especially those with the fewest resources—have access to the
opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. The Gates
Foundation has provided more than $36 billion in grants since its
inception.
Frank Gehry
Frank
Gehry is one of the world’s leading architects, whose works have helped
define contemporary architecture. His best-known buildings include the
Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, the Dancing House in Prague,
and the Guggenheim Museum building in Bilbao, Spain.
Margaret H. Hamilton
Margaret
H. Hamilton led the team that created the on-board flight software for
NASA's Apollo command modules and lunar modules. A mathematician and
computer scientist who started her own software company, Hamilton
co-created the concepts of asynchronous software, priority scheduling,
and human-in-the-loop decision capability, which set the foundation for
modern, ultra-reliable software design and engineering.
Tom Hanks
Tom
Hanks is one of the Nation’s finest actors and filmmakers. He has been
nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role five
times, and received the award for his work in Philadelphia and Forrest Gump. Those roles and countless others, including in Apollo 13, Saving Private Ryan, and Cast Away,
have left an indelible mark on American film. Off screen, as an
advocate, Hanks has advocated for social and environmental justice, and
for our veterans and their families.
Grace Hopper (posthumous)
Rear
Admiral Grace Hopper, known as “Amazing Grace” and “the first lady of
software,” was at the forefront of computers and programming development
from the 1940s through the 1980s. Hopper’s
work helped make coding languages more practical and accessible, and
she created the first compiler, which translates source code from one
language into another. She taught mathematics
as an associate professor at Vassar College before joining the United
States Naval Reserve as a lieutenant (junior grade) during World War II,
where she became one of the first programmers of the Harvard Mark I computer and began her lifelong leadership role in the field of computer science.
Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan is one of the greatest athletes of all time. Jordan
played 15 seasons in the NBA for the Chicago Bulls and Washington
Wizards; he is currently a principal owner and chairman of the Charlotte
Hornets. During his career, he won six championships, five Most
Valuable Player awards, and appeared in 14 All-Star games.
Maya Lin
Maya
Lin is an artist and designer who is known for her work in sculpture
and landscape art. She designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in
Washington D.C. and since then has pursued a celebrated career in both
art and architecture. A committed environmentalist, Lin is currently
working on a multi-sited artwork/memorial, What is Missing? bringing
awareness to the planet's loss of habitat and biodiversity.
Lorne Michaels
Lorne Michaels is a producer and screenwriter, best known for creating and producing Saturday Night Live, which has run continuously for more than 40 years. In addition, Michaels has also produced The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Late Night with Seth Meyers, and 30 Rock, among other popular, award-winning shows. He has won 13 Emmy Awards over the course of his lengthy career.
Newt Minow
Newt
Minow is an attorney with a long and distinguished career in public
life. After serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, Minow served
as a Supreme Court clerk and counsel to the Governor of Illinois. In
1961, President Kennedy selected Minow, then 34, to serve as Chairman of
the Federal Communications Committee (FCC), where he helped shape the
future of American television and was a vigorous advocate for
broadcasting that promoted the public interest. In the five decades
since leaving the FCC, Minow has maintained a prominent private law
practice while devoting himself to numerous public and charitable
causes.
Eduardo Padrón
Eduardo
Padrón is the President of Miami Dade College (MDC), one of the largest
institutions of higher education in the United States. During his more
than four decade career, President Padrón has been a national voice for
access and inclusion. He has worked to ensure all students have access
to high quality, affordable education. He has championed innovative
teaching and learning strategies making MDC a national model of
excellence.
Robert Redford
Robert
Redford is an actor, director, producer, businessman, and
environmentalist. In 1981, he founded the Sundance Institute to advance
the work of independent filmmakers and storytellers throughout the
world, including through its annual Sundance Film Festival. He has
received an Academy Award for Best Director and for Lifetime
Achievement. Redford has directed or starred in numerous motion
pictures, including The Candidate, All the President's Men, Quiz Show, and A River Runs Through It.
Diana Ross
Diana
Ross has had an iconic career spanning more than 50 years within the
entertainment industry in music, film, television, theater, and fashion.
Diana Ross is an Academy Award nominee, inductee into the Rock &
Roll Hall of Fame, and recipient of the Grammy Awards highest honor, the
Lifetime Achievement Award. Ross was a recipient of the 2007 Kennedy
Center Honors. Diana Ross’s greatest legacy is her five wonderful
children.
Vin Scully
Vin
Scully is a broadcaster who, for 67 seasons, was the voice of the
Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers. In Southern California, where
generations of fans have grown up listening to Dodger baseball, Scully's
voice is known as the "soundtrack to summer." In 1988, he was inducted
into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Scully's signature voice
brought to life key moments in baseball history, including perfect games
by Sandy Koufax and Don Larsen, Kirk Gibson's home run in the 1988
World Series, and Hank Aaron's record-breaking 715th home run.
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce
Springsteen is a singer, songwriter, and bandleader. More than five
decades ago, he bought a guitar and learned how to make it talk. Since
then, the stories he has told, in lyrics and epic live concert
performances, have helped shape American music and have challenged us to
realize the American dream. Springsteen is a Kennedy Center honoree
and he and the E Street Band he leads have each been inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Cicely Tyson
Cicely
Tyson has performed on the stage, on television, and on the silver
screen. She has won two Emmy Awards and a Tony Award, and is known for
her performances in Sounder, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, and The Help. In 2013, she returned to the stage with The Trip to the Bountiful, and was awarded the Tony Award for best leading actress. Tyson received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2015.
Source: The White House, Office of the Press Secretary
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