President Joe Biden announced on Friday the 19 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, with the Academy Award-winning Michelle Yeoh as one of them, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Presidential Medal of Freedom 101
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest honor a civilian can receive from the President. The medal is given to 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.”
Yeoh is on the list one this year's awardees since she “continues to shatter stereotypes and enrich American culture,” the White House said.
The Medal of Freedom was established in 1963 by President John F. Kennedy. It superseded the Medal of Freedom originally established by President Harry S. Truman in 1945.
Sometimes, the Presidential Medal of Freedom is awarded “with distinction.” In 2017, President Barack Obama said that this means “an additional level of veneration” to the recipients. As of January 2022, there have 26 recipients of the medal with distinction. President Biden himself is a recipient with distinction, the medal given to him by Obama in 2017.
The 2024 list of the honorees:
Michael R. Bloomberg is businessman, philanthropist and was a three-term mayor of New York City.
Father Greogy J. Boyle is a Jesuit Catholic priest and the founder and director of Homeboy Industries. The organization is the biggest gang-intervention and rehabilitation program in the world.
Rep. James E. Clyburn served as the former Assistant Democratic Leader and Majority Whip in the United States House of Representatives. He has spent 30 years in Congress.
Sen. Elizabeth Dole has served in several capacities in the US government. She was a senator, the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of Labor and President of the American Red Cross.
Phil Donahue is an American journalist. He created and hosted The Phil Donahue Show or simply Donahue. It was the first television show that used audience participation in its forat.
Medgar Wiley Evers (posthumous, died 1963) served in the US military and fought in World War II. He returned home to Mississippi to fight against segregation. Evers was murdered at age 37.
Al Gore is a former Vice President (and presidential candidate), US Senator and House of Representatives member. He is also a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Clarence B. Jones is a civil rights activist and attorney. He helped draft Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s I Have a Dream speech, and played a huge role in preserving Dr. King's legacy.
Secretary John Forbes Kerry served as the former Secretary of State, US Senator and was the first Special Presidential Envoy for Climate. He also earned the Silver Star and Bronze Star for his actions in the Vietnam War. He has served in the US government in various capacities for 70 years.
Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (posthumous, died 2013) held five terms in the US Senate. He's also New Jersey's longest-serving senator.
Kathleen Genevieve “Katie” Ledecky is the first swimmer to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She has won seven Olympic gold medals and 21 world championship gold medals so far. To date, she has broken 16 world records.
Opal Lee is an educator and activist. She is best known for her efforts in making Juneteenth a federally recognized holiday. In 2021, she joined Presidential Biden to make Juneteenth an officially recognized national holiday.
Ellen Ochoa is the first Hispanic woman in space as well as the second female director of NASA's Johnson Space Center. She has flown in space four times and recorded almost 1,000 hours in orbit.
Rep. Nancy D’Alesandro Pelosi was the 52nd Speaker of House and the first female to hold the position when she was elected to the post in 2007. She has served as San Francisco's representative for over 36 years.
Jane Rigby is an astrophysicist who works at the Goddard Space Flight Center and is the Senior Project Scientist of the world's most powerful telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope.
Teresa Romero is the president of the United Farm Workers. She is also the first Latino to lead a US national union.
Judy Shepard co-founded the Matthew Shephard Foundation. She created the organization in honor of her son who was murdered in one of the US' most notorious anti-gay hate crimes in 1998.
James Francis Thorpe (posthumous, died 1953) was the Native American to win an Olympic gold medal. He was a member of the Sac and Fox Nation. He won two Olympic gold medals in 1912: one for the classic pentathlon and the other in decathlon. He also went on to play professional football, baseball and basketball.
Michelle Yeoh is the first Asian to win the Academy Award for Best Actress in in 2023 for Everything Everywhere All at Once.
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