Accomplished in fields ranging from sports and art to science and medicine to politics and public policy and representing a diversity of backgrounds, the White House announcement said the recipients were selected for their work as “agents of change.”
“Each saw an imperfect world and set about improving it, often overcoming great obstacles along the way,” Obama said. “Their relentless devotion to breaking down barriers and lifting up their fellow citizens sets a standard to which we all should strive.”
Other names on the list are: Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, tennis legend Billie Jean King and retired Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa. Race for the Cure founder Nancy Brinker, physicist Stephen Hawking, civil rights activist Rev. Joseph Lowery, and entertainers Sidney Poitier and Chita Rivera.
Former Rep. Jack Kemp, who died in May, and gay rights activist Harvey Milk, who was assassinated in 1978, will receive posthumous awards.
The award ceremony is August 12th.
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