During the ceremony, where notable figures such as former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, former Vice President Al Gore, former Secretary of State John Kerry, and former Mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg were present, President Joe Biden expressed, “Today, we are experiencing an extraordinary honor in bestowing the nation’s highest honor upon these incredible individuals who, with relentless curiosity, creativity, skill, and hope, maintain their belief in a better tomorrow.”
According to the official statement from the White House, the Presidential Medal of Freedom is awarded to individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the welfare, values, or security of the United States, to world peace, or to other significant public or private endeavors, representing the highest societal honor of the nation. Among the recipients of the Presidential Medal, a prominent figure from the civil rights movement of the 1960s was recognized. Clarence B. Jones, the attorney and activist who penned Martin Luther King Jr.’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech, was also deemed worthy of the presidential medal.
