WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 17 people Thursday, including former Rep. Gabby Giffords, Olympic gymnast Simone Biles and the late-Sen. John McCain.
Biden also awarded the medals, the country’s highest civilian honor, to U.S. soccer player Megan Rapinoe; actor Denzel Washington; Khizr Khan, the father of a fallen Muslim U.S. Army captain; and Sandra Lindsay, a New York nurse who was among the first in the country to receive a Covid vaccination.
Speaking at an event at the White House, Biden called the recipients an “extraordinary, extraordinary group of Americans.”
“The Fourth of July week reminds us what brought us together long ago, and still binds us — binds us at our best, what we strive for,” Biden said. “We the people, doing what we can to ensure that the idea of America, the cause of freedom, shines like the sun to light up the future of the world.”
“This is America,” he said, gesturing to the stage full of award winners.
Three recipients were awarded the medal posthumously: McCain, who served in the Senate with Biden and in the House and became the Republican presidential nominee in 2008; Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple Inc.; and Richard Trumka, who was president of the AFL-CIO.
Giffords, who served as a congresswoman from Arizona, was shot at a constituent event in Tucson in 2011. She survived and became a major advocate of gun violence prevention efforts.
Biles is the most decorated gymnast in American history, with 32 Olympic and World Championship medals, and Rapinoe is an Olympic gold medalist and two-time Women’s World Cup champion.
The other eight recipients are former Sen. Alan Simpson, R-Wyo., a prominent advocate of campaign finance reform and marriage equality; Sister Simone Campbell, an advocate on progressive issues; Julieta García, the first Hispanic woman to serve as a college president; Fred Gray, one of the first Black members of the Alabama state Legislature since Reconstruction; Father Alexander Karloutsos, former vicar-general of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America; Diane Nash, a founding member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee who worked with Martin Luther King Jr.; Wilma Vaught, a brigadier general and one of the most decorated women in the history of the U.S. military; and Raúl Yzaguirre, a civil rights advocate who served as CEO and president of National Council of La Raza for 30 years.
The medals are awarded by the president to people who have made a significant cultural impact or great contributions to the country or world.
Washington was unable to attend Thursday’s ceremony due to a positive Covid test, a White House official said. Biden said the actor would be honored at a later date.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
