Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
ABC News
ABC News
National

From Simone Biles to Steve Jobs, meet all the Americans being awarded a Presidential Medal Of Freedom this week

Megan Rapinoe is one of two influential sportspeople on this year's Presidential Medal of Freedom list. (AP/Invision: Evan Agostini)

US President Joe Biden has named 17 recipients for the Presidential Medal of Freedom for 2022.

The awards, described as America's "highest civilian honour", will be presented in Washington DC later this week.

In a statement, the White House says the 17 recipients have all "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."

Here's who the President has named as recipients.

Simone Biles

Simone Biles sparked a global conversation after pulling out of multiple events at the Tokyo Olympics. (Reuters: Lindsey Wasson)

Who: Seven-time Olympic medallist, mental health and child safety advocate

Why: America's most decorated gymnast of all time went into the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with the weight of the GOAT title on her shoulders — so when she withdrew from some of her best events to focus on her mental health, it forced the sporting world (and beyond) to rethink how it sees success. The 25-year-old also spoke out against abuse within the gymnastics and wider sporting systems, testifying against former team doctor Larry Nassar and giving evidence to the Senate Judiciary Committee into the FBI's response.

Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington won his first Golden Globe back in 1990 for the film Glory. (Reuters: Mario Anzuoni)

Who: Actor and director, Boys & Girls Clubs of America spokesperson

Why: The 67-year-old will add the Presidential Medal of Freedom to his collection of two Oscars, two Golden Globes, a Tony and the Cecil B DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award for outstanding contributions to entertainment. In 2000, he became the first black American in 36 years to win an Oscar for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama and some — namely, the New York Times — have dubbed him the best actor of this century.

John McCain

John McCain was first elected to the US House of Representatives in 1982 and won his first term in the Senate in 1986. (AAP: Paul Miller)

Who: Former US politician and navy officer

Why: A Vietnam veteran, McCain served six terms for the Republicans and was the party's US presidential nominee in 2008. When he died of brain cancer in 2018 at the age of 81, he released a final statement saying: "Do not despair of our present difficulties but believe always in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here. Americans never quit. We never surrender. We never hide from history. We make history."

Megan Rapinoe

Who: World Cup and Olympic champion footballer, LGBTQI+ advocate

Why: As well as being undoubtedly one of the best footballers in the world, Rapinoe has been a key driver for equal pay, LGBTQI+ rights and ending gender discrimination, to name a few causes, and most recently the 36-year-old has been vocal on issues like the banning of transgender athletes in professional sport and the overturning of Roe v Wade. She reacted to the announcement by posting a clip on Instagram saying "you guys, I'm going to the f***ing White House!"

Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs stepped down as the CEO of Apple just weeks before his death. (Reuters: Lou Dematteis)

Who: Entrepreneur, co-founder of Apple and Pixar

Why: From college dropout to one of the most influential people in modern technology, Steve Jobs has been remembered as a "visionary and creative genius". More than a decade after his death in 2011 aged just 56, the White House says Jobs's "vision, imagination and creativity led to inventions that have, and continue to, change the way the world communicates, as well as transforming the computer, music, film and wireless industries."

Sandra Lindsay

Nurse Sandra Lindsay has become an advocate for vaccination and support for health workers. (Reuters: Mark Lennihan)

Who: Critical care nurse

Why: Sandra Lindsay was the first American to receive a COVID-19 vaccine outside of clinical trials, and became one of the faces of the country's vaccination push. Since pictures of her getting that first jab were beamed around the world in late 2020, she's served as parade Grand Marshal at New York City's Hometown Heroes Parade for frontline workers, received the US Citizenship and Immigration Services Outstanding Americans by Choice recognition, and met with the President of the US General Assembly.

Khizr Khan

Who: Constitution Literacy and National Unity Centre founder, religious freedom advocate

Why: At the 2016 Democratic National Convention, Khizr Khan famously spoke out against Donald Trump's proposal to ban Muslims from the US. He lost his son, Captain Humayun Khan, in the Iraq war in 2004. Khan served on the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom until earlier this year.

Gabrielle Giffords

Six people were killed in the mass shooting which injured then-congresswoman Gabby Giffords. (Reuters: Laura Segall)

Who: Former congresswoman, gun violence prevention advocate

Why: Gabby Giffords co-founded a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to reducing gun violence soon after the Sandy Hook shooting in 2013. She herself was shot in the head during a mass shooting in 2011, which forced her to step down from Congress.

Julieta García

Who: Former University of Texas Brownsville president

Why: Dr Julieta García was the first Hispanic woman to serve as a college president in the US and dedicated her career to serving students from the Southwest Border region. TIME magazine identified her as one of the best college presidents in the country in 2009.

Fred Gray

Fred Gray attended the National Bar Association's 60th Anniversary of the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 2015. (Reuters: Marvin Gentry)

Who: Lawyer and activist

Why: Fred Gray Senior has been involved in some of the most significant civil rights cases in American history, representing and working with the likes of Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks and the NAACP. Now aged 91, he was elected to the Alabama State Legislature in 1970 — becoming one of the first African American members since the Reconstruction era — and became the first African American president of the Alabama Bar Association in 2002.

Sister Simone Campbell

Sister Simone Campbell was one of the key speakers at the 2012 Democratic National Convention. (Reuters: Eric Thayer)

Who: Nun, lawyer and poet

Why: The former NETWORK Lobby executive director is a founder of "Nuns on the Bus", a tour of religious community members that first started in 2012 to bring attention to policies on inequality, poverty and health. On receiving the Medal of Freedom, she says she hopes "our work for economic justice and political healing might receive a renewed focus in these challenging times!"

Richard Trumka

Richard Trumka was the secretary-general of the AFL-CIO for almost 15 years before becoming president. (Flickr: OECD)

Who: Union leader

Why: Richard Trumka had been the president of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations for more than 10 years before he died unexpectedly last year, aged 72. Described as an "outspoken advocate for social and economic justice", he was also the president of the United Mine Workers.

Diane Nash

Who: Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee founding member, "Freedom Rider"

Why: Civil rights activist Diane Nash first started going to nonviolence workshops in the late 1950s after transferring to Tennessee's Fisk University to study. She was jailed alongside three other activists soon after for "requesting service at a segregated lunch counter" in South Carolina, which caught the attention of Martin Luther King.

Alan Simpson

Alan Simpson became the Director of the Institute of Politics at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government after leaving the US Senate in the 1990s. (Reuters: Jonathan Ernst)

Who: Former US senator

Why: Republican Alan Simpson served in Wyoming for almost two decades, from 1979 to 1997. Simpson also served in the US Army in the 1950s, and the White House says the 90-year-old is being recognised for his advocacy in "campaign finance reform, responsible governance, and marriage equality". Just last week he called Donald Trump a "spoiled brat".

Wilma Vaught

Who: Retired Air Force Brigadier General, President Emeritus of the Military Women’s Memorial

Why: Brigadier General Wilma Vaught is one of the most decorated women in US military history. She was one of just seven female generals in the Armed Forces when she retired in 1985, and the National Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs named her Veteran Advocate of the Year in 1998.

Raúl Yzaguirre

Civil rights advocate Raúl Yzaguirre fought for better outcomes for the American Latino community. (Reuters: Mario Anzuoni)

Who: Former ambassador to the Dominican Republic and National Council of La Raza president

Why: Raúl Yzaguirre served as the US ambassador to the Dominican Republic under Barack Obama, and was the president of National Council of La Raza for three decades. He also served in the US Air Force and is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Father Alexander Karloutsos

Who: Former vicar general of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America

Why: Father Alexander Karloutsos served as a priest for more than 50 years and was named a Protopresbyter of the Ecumenical Patriarchate (the highest honour a married clergyman can receive in the Orthodox Church) in 1994. He has worked with the White House, Congress and other US politicians and political groups for decades.

ABC/wires

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.