President Announces 2009 Medal of Freedom Recipients

Today President Obama announced the 16 recipients of the 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor. Read about it in the White House blog. The President states: "These outstanding men and women represent an incredible diversity of backgrounds. Their tremendous accomplishments span fields . . . . Yet they share one overarching trait: Each has been an agent of change. Each saw an imperfect world and set about improving it, often overcoming great obstacles along the way."

The 16 recipients are

• Nancy Goodman Brinker
• Pedro Jose Greer, Jr.
• Stephen Hawking
• Sen. Edward Kennedy
• Billie Jean King
• Rev. Joseph Lowery
• Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow
• Harvey Milk
• Sandra Day O’Connor
• Sidney Poitier
  
• Chita Rivera
  
• Mary Robinson
  
• Janet Davison Rowley, M.D.
  
• Desmond Tutu
• Muhammad Yunus
• Jack Kemp

You can learn more about these individuals and their accomplishments on the blog or the official press release. You can find lists of past Medal of Freedom recipients on the Senate's website.