Denzel Washington and Simon Bailes will receive Presidential Medals of Freedom

President Joe Biden will present the highest civilian award in the nation, the Presidential Medal of Libertad, to 17 people, including actor Denzel Washington, gymnast Simon Bale and the late John McCain, Republicans of Arizona with Biden served in them United States.

Biden also recognizes New York nurse Sandra Lindsay, who raised her hands on live television in December 2020 to receive the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to be inserted into her arm in the United States, the White House announced Friday. .

Biden’s honor roll, shared for the first time by the White House Associated pressIt includes living and dead dignitaries from the worlds of Hollywood, sports, politics, military, academia, and civil rights and social justice advocacy.

The Democratic president will deliver the medals at the White House next week.

Biden himself is a medalist. President Barack Obama bestowed Biden’s public service as a longtime United States Senator and Vice President with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in January 2017, a week before his inauguration.

The award winners, who will receive Biden Medals, “overcame significant obstacles to make impressive strides in the arts and sciences, dedicated their lives to defending the most vulnerable among us, and acted courageously to bring about change in their communities and around the world. .” world. It will light the way for the world and the next generation,” the White House said in a statement.

The White House claims to honor individuals who have made exemplary contributions to public or private efforts for the well-being, values ​​or security of the United States, world peace and other important societies.

Biles is the most decorated American gymnast in history, with 32 world and Olympic medals. He is an outspoken advocate for issues close to his heart, including the mental health of athletes, children in foster care and victims of sexual violence.

Lindsay became an advocate for COVID-19 vaccination after receiving her first dose in the United States

McCain, who died of brain cancer in 2018, spent more than five years in captivity in Vietnam while serving in the US Navy. He later represented both houses of Congress in Arizona and was a Republican presidential candidate in 2008. Biden said McCain was a “precious friend” and a “hero”.

Washington is an actor, director and producer who has won two Oscars. He also has a Tony Award, two Golden Globes and a Cecil Demil Life Achievement Award. He is a longtime representative of the American Boys and Girls Clubs.

The other 13 medals are won by:

— and Simon Campbell. Campbell is a sister member of Social Services and the former executive director of NETWRK, a Catholic social justice organization. He is an advocate for economic justice that is changing America’s immigration system and healthcare policies.

– Julieta Garcia. A former president of the University of Texas at Brownsville, Garcia was the first Latino to become president of the university, the White House said. He was named president of one of the best universities in the country. Time Daily.

-Gabriel Giffords. A former member of the US House of Representatives from Arizona, he founded Giffords, an organization dedicated to ending gun violence. He was shot in the head in January 2011 during a constitutional rally in Tucson and was seriously injured.

– Fred Grey. Gray was one of the first black members of the Alabama Legislature after Reconstruction. He was a well-known civil rights attorney who represented Rosa Park, the NAACP and Martin Luther King Jr.

– Active Jobs. Jobs was co-founder, CEO and president of Apple Inc. He died in 2011.

– Father Alejandro Carluzzos. Carloutsos is an assistant to Demetrius, Archbishop of the United States. The White House said Carluzzos consulted with several US presidents.

– Khizr Khan. An immigrant from Pakistan, the son of an officer in Khan’s army, was killed in Iraq. Khan gained national popularity and became the target of Donald Trump’s wrath after speaking at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.

– Diana Nash. Nash, a founding member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, organized the most important civil rights campaign of the 20th century and worked with King.

-Megan Rapinoe. The Olympic gold medalist and two-time World Cup champion is the captain of the OL Reign National Soccer League. He is a prominent advocate for gender equality, racial justice and LGBTQI+ rights who has appeared at the Biden White House.

Alan Simpson. The retired US senator from Wyoming served with Biden and was a leading advocate of campaign finance reform, responsible governance and marriage equality.

– Richard Trumka. Trumka had been chairman of the 12.5 million-member AFL-CIO for over a decade at the time of his death in August 2021. He was the former chairman of the United Mines Workers.

-Will Watts. Brigadier General Watt is one of the most deserving women in US military history, breaking down gender barriers as she rose through the ranks. When Watt retired in 1985, she was one of seven women generals in the Armed Forces.

– Raul Izagire. A civil rights activist, Izagire has been president and CEO of the National Council of La Raza for 30 years. He served as the United States Ambassador to the Dominican Republic under Obama.