Hillary Clinton, George Soros and Denzel Washington will receive the highest US civilian honor
WASHINGTON — Former Secretary of State Hillary ClintonDemocratic philanthropist George Soros and actor-director Denzel Washington will receive the nation’s highest civilian honor during a ceremony at the White House on Saturday.
President Joe Biden will award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 19 of the most famous names in politics, sports, entertainment, civil rights, LGBTQ+ advocacy and science.
The White House said the recipients “have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values or security of the United States, world peace, or other important civic, public, or private endeavors.”
Four medals are awarded posthumously. They go to Fannie Lou Hamer, who founded the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and laid the groundwork for the Voting Rights Act of 1965; former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy; George W. Romney, who served as Governor of Michigan as well as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; and Ash Carter, the former Secretary of Defense.
Kennedy is the father of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services. Romney is the father of former Republican Senator Mitt Romney of Utah, one of Trump’s strongest conservative critics.
Major philanthropists receiving the award include Spanish-American chef José Andrés, whose Charity World Central Kitchen has become one of the most recognized food aid organizations in the world, and Bonothe frontman of rock band U2 and an activist for social justice.
Sports and entertainment stars recognized include professional footballer Lionel Messi; retired Los Angeles Lakers basketball legend and businessman Earvin “Magic” Johnson; actor Michael J. Fox, an outspoken advocate for Parkinson’s disease research and development; and William Sanford Nye, known to generations of students as “Bill Nye the Science Guy.”
Other winners include conservationist Jane Goodall; Anna Wintour, former editor-in-chief of Vogue Magazine; American fashion designer Ralph Lauren; American Film Institute Founder George Stevens Jr.; entrepreneur and LGBTQ+ activist Tim Gill; and David Rubenstein, co-founder of global investment firm The Carlyle Group.
Last year, Biden awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom on 19 peopleincluding the late Medgar Evers, Speaker of the House Emerita Nancy Pelosi, Representative James Clyburn of South Carolina and actor Michelle Yeoh.