Biden to award Presidential Medal of Freedom to 19 politicians, activists, athletes and more

WASHINGTON (AP) — Clarence B. Jones says he thought a prankster was on the line when he answered the phone and heard the person on the other end say they were calling from the White House.

“I said, ‘Is this a joke or is this serious?'” Jones recalled. The caller swore he was serious and was calling to announce that the president Joe Biden wanted to recognize Jones with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.

Jones, 93, will be honored for his activism during the civil rights movement. He is a lawyer who provided legal advice to Martin Luther King Jr. and helped write the opening paragraphs of the “I Have a Dream” speech that King gave at the Lincoln Memorial during the 1963 March on Washington.

Jones is among a diverse group of 19 people who will be honored Friday by the Democratic president for making what the White House called “exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values ​​or security of the United States, world peace or other important societal and public activities. or private efforts.

The ten men and nine women come from the worlds of politics, sports, entertainment, civil rights and the defense of LGBTQ+ rights, science and religion. Three medals will be awarded posthumously.

“These nineteen Americans built teams, coalitions, movements, organizations and businesses that have shaped America for the better,” the White House statement said. “They represent the pinnacle of leadership in their field. They have consistently demonstrated throughout their careers the power of community, hard work and science.

Seven politicians are among the recipients: former New York City mayor and philanthropist Michael Bloomberg, Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., former Sen. Elizabeth Doléclimate activist and former Vice President Al Gore, former Biden climate envoy John Kerry, former Sen. Frank LautenbergDN.J., who died in 2013, and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

Clyburn’s support of his longtime friend Biden during the 2020 Democratic presidential primary is credited with helping Biden achieve a thunderous victory in South Carolina that helped him advance to his party’s nomination and ultimately to the White House. Bloomberg launched a short-lived campaign for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.

In addition to representing North Carolina in the Senate, Dole, who is a Republican, also served as secretary of transportation and secretary of labor and president of the American Red Cross. She currently runs a foundation supporting military caregivers.

Pelosi is the first and only woman ever elected to the office of Speaker, placing her second in line to presidential succession.

Medgar Evers will receive posthumous recognition for his work more than six decades ago fighting segregation in Mississippi in the 1960s as the state’s first NAACP field agent. He was 37 when he was fatally shot in the driveway of his home in June 1963.

Michelle Yeoh made history last year when she became the first Asian woman to win a best actress Oscar for her performance in “Everything, Everywhere All at Once.”

Jim Thorpe, who died in 1953, was the first Native American to win an Olympic gold medal for the United States.

Judy Shepard co-founded the Matthew Shepard Foundation, named after her son, a 21-year-old gay University of Wyoming student who died in 1998 after being beaten and tied to a fence.

Jones said he felt “very touched” after digesting what the caller said.

“I’m 93 years old and I’ve been suffering from some health issues, but I woke up this morning by the grace of God,” he told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Thursday. “I look forward to whatever the White House would like me to do.”

The other recipients of the medal are:

— Gregory Boyle, a Jesuit Catholic priest who founded and runs Homeboy Industries, a gang intervention and rehabilitation program.

— Phil Donahue, journalist and former daytime television talk show host.

— Katie Ledecky, the most decorated swimmer in history.

— Opal Lee, an activist best known for pushing for Juneteenth to be a federal holiday. Biden did it in 2021.

— Ellen Ochoa, the first Hispanic woman in space and the second female director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center.

— Jane Rigby, astronomer and chief scientist of the world’s most powerful telescope. She grew up in Delaware, Biden’s home state.

— Teresa Romero, president of United Farm Workers and the first Hispanic woman to lead a national union in the United States. The union endorsed Biden’s re-election bid and supported him in 2020.

In 2022, Biden presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 17 people, including gymnast Simone Biles, the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and gun control advocate Gabby Giffords.

Biden also knows what it feels like to receive the medal. As president, Barack Obama presented the medal to Biden, his vice president, a week before the end of their administration in 2017.