U.S. President Joe Biden and former President Hillary Clinton look on as former President Bill Clinton (not pictured) speaks at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting in New York on September 23, 2024. Secretary of State.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Democratic philanthropist George Soros and actor and director Denzel Washington will receive the highest civilian honor at a White House ceremony on Saturday.
President Joe Biden will award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 19 of the most prominent people in politics, sports, entertainment, civil rights, LGBTQ+ advocacy and science.
The White House said the honorees have made “exemplary contributions to American prosperity, values, security, world peace, or other important social, public, or private endeavors.”
Four medals will be awarded posthumously. They will go to Fannie Lou Hamer, who founded the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and laid the foundation for the Voting Rights Act of 1965. former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy; George W. Romney served as governor of Michigan and secretary of housing and urban development. Former Secretary of Defense Ash Carter.
Kennedy is the father of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services. Mr. Romney is the father of former Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney, one of Mr. Trump’s strongest conservative critics.
Notable philanthropists who have received this award include Spanish-American chef Jose Andres, whose World Central Kitchen charity has become one of the most recognized food relief organizations in the world, and rock band They include U2 frontman and social justice activist Bono.
A recognized star of sports and entertainment is professional soccer player Lionel Messi. retired Los Angeles Lakers basketball legend and businessman Earvin “Magic” Johnson; Actor Michael J. Fox is an outspoken advocate for research and development into Parkinson’s disease. and William Sanford Nye, known to generations of students as “Bill Nye the Science Guy.”
Other honorees include conservationist Jane Goodall; Anna Wintour was the editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine for many years. American fashion designer Ralph Lauren. George Stevens Jr., founder of the American Film Institute. Entrepreneur and LGBTQ+ activist Tim Gill. and David Rubenstein, co-founder of the global investment firm The Carlyle Group.
Last year, Biden awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 19 people, including the late Medgar Evers, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, South Carolina Representative James Clyburn, and actor Michelle Yeoh.
