Biden Awards Medal of Freedom

By: Yifei Mei

President Joe Biden will award the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Medal of Freedom, to 17 people, according to the White House.

At the White House next week, President Joe Biden will be presenting the medals, Biden also received the medal. President Barack Obama honored Biden’s service and awarded him with the Medal in January 2017.

The people who’ll receive the medal “have overcome significant obstacles to achieve impressive accomplishments in the arts and sciences, dedicated their lives to advocating for the most vulnerable among us, and acted with bravery to drive change in their communities, and across the world, while blazing trails for generations to come,” said the White House.

This honor is saved for people who’ve made exemplary contributions to the USA, world peace or other important public or private endeavors.

The 17 honorees for the Medal of Freedom are, Denzel Washington, Simone Biles, John McCain, Sandra Lindsay, Julieta Garcia, Gabrielle Giffords, Fred Gray, Steve Jobs, Father Alexander Karloutsos, Diane Nash, Megan Rapinoe, Alan Simpson, and Richard Trumka

Actor Denzel Washington, a double Oscar-winning actor, director, and producer. Gymnast Simone Biles, the most decorated gymnast in the US history, who won 32 Olympic and World Championship medals.

The late John McCain, who died of brain cancer in 2018, spent over five years in captivity in Vietnam and serving the U.S. Navy. He also represented Arizona in both houses of Congress. Biden said he’s a “dear friend” and “a hero”.

Sandra Lindsay was the first person who took the COVID-19 vaccine in December 2020. Julieta Garcia was former president of the University of Texas in Brownsville. She was the first Latina the become a college president. Gabrielle Giffords was a former U.S. House member in Arizona. She was shot in the head in January 2011 and was gravely wounded.

Fred Gray was one of the first Black members of the Alabama Legislature. Steve Jobs was the co-founder and chief executive of Apple Inc who died in 2011. Father Alexander Karloutsos is the assistant to Archbishop Demetrios of America. Diane Nash, a founding member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Megan Rapinoe won the gold medal twice in the Women’s World Cup soccer. Alan Simpson, a retired U.S. senator.

Richard Trumka was the president of the 12.5-million-member AFL-CIO for more than a decade before his death in August 2021.

Source: https://apnews.com/article/simone-biles-biden-gun-violence-covid-sports-8aa59ba8aa52ef22b4ec7c4d13cdb5ab