By Maria Ortiz
President Joe Biden presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Friday night, America’s highest civilian award, to a variety of Americans, including athletes, actors, politicians, civic leaders.
Biden said the “relentless curiosity, inventiveness, ingenuity and hope of recipients have kept faith in a better tomorrow.”
Among those honored are also two of Biden’s main allies in the House of Representatives: former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn.
Also receiving the high honor was astronaut Ellen Ochoa, the first Hispanic woman to travel to space.
Biden also presented the medal to Teresa Romero, the president of the United Farm Workers (UFW), the largest agricultural union in the country. Romero was the first Latina to preside over a national union.
Other recipients included swimmer Katie Ledecky, winner of seven Olympic gold medals, former Vice President Al Gore, former Secretary of State John Kerry, former New York mayor and businessman Michael Bloomberg, Rev. Father Greg Boyle, Los Angeles gang interventionist, astronomer Jane Rigby and actress Michelle Yeoh, winner of an Oscar for best female performance.
The medal is awarded to individuals “who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant social, public or private endeavors,” according to a White House statement.
Biden himself is one of the recipients, and then-President Barack Obama presented him with the medal in the final days of his administration.
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