President Joe Biden awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 19 recipients on Saturday afternoon, including Black American luminaries, actor Denzel Washington, former NBA star and business mogul Earvin “Magic” Johnson, and the late civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer.
Other recipients included former Secretary of State, U.S. Senator and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, musician Bono, actor Michael J. Fox, the late Robert F. Kennedy, Sr., fashion designer Ralph Lauren, and longtime Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour.
The ceremony unfolded in the historic White House East Room, where President Biden noted President Abraham Lincoln and Black abolitionist Frederick Douglass stood to “unify the nation” after delivering Lincoln’s 1865 inaugural address.
Biden praised the group for their “unwavering passion to strengthen our resolve as one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.” The president added, “You feed the hungry, you give hope to those who are hurting, and you craft the signs and sounds of our movements and our memories.”
During his awarding, Denzel Washington embraced Biden with a hug after the president placed the Medal of Freedom award around his neck. The Oscar-winning actor, who was recently baptized and received a ministry training license, was praised as “one of the greatest actors of our time.”
“Over four decades on screen and stage, his portrayals of iconic figures and everyday people have earned him wide acclaim that includes two Academy Awards, two Golden Globes and a Tony Award – so far,” said a White House announcer as President Biden awarded the Medal of Freedom to Washington.
“The admiration of audiences and peers is only exceeded by that of the countless young people he inspires with unmatched dignity, extraordinary talent and unflinching faith in God and family. Denzel Washington himself is a defining character of the American story.”
The Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian honor bestowed by the president of the United States on a U.S. citizen. It was established by President Harry S. Truman in 1945 but became a modern tradition in 1963 when President John F. Kennedy selected 31 recipients, including Marian Anderson, the first African-American to perform at the Metropolitan Opera.
Fannie Lou Hamer, who famously registered Black voters throughout the South and advocated for voting rights, was posthumously awarded her Medal of Freedom, which was accepted by Doris Hamer Richardson, a relative.
The White House named Hamer as “one of the most powerful voices of the civil rights movement.” Hamer notably sacrificed her physical safety to organize and register Black voters and was “brutally beaten” for her activism.
“Undeterred for decades, she spoke truth to power to expand political participation and economic rights for all Americans and left these words echoing the nation’s conscience: ‘Nobody is free until everybody is free,’” said the White House.
Rev. Al Sharpton told theGrio that Hamer’s honor was particularly notable for Black American history, calling it “heartwarming, historically, particularly coming at a time that voting rights is under siege.”
“Fannie Lou Hamer lived to give the right to us, not only Mississippi but nationwide, and was beaten and had confronted the ’64 Democratic [National] Convention about voting rights,” Sharpton recalled. “And here we are, 60 years later, where a Black woman was the nominee at the [2024] convention because of voting rights, and now voting rights is under threat.”
“For the president to salute her as he has fought with us on this issue, to stand with us on this issue, I think was appropriate,” added Sharpton. “[It] sends a message not only memorializing her but cementing what she stood for.”
Magic Johnson drew laughs inside the East Room during the award ceremony. His 6-foot-9 frame had to bend down for President Biden, who is 6 feet tall, to place the Medal of Freedom around him.
Johnson, who played his 12-year NBA career with the Los Angeles Lakers, was honored for his “unmatched” athleticism but also his advocacy for HIV/AIDS awareness and treatment.
“Under the same bright lights, his honesty about his HIV status shattered stigma and saved lives,” said the White House.
“The first retired athlete to build a true business empire, he champions underserved communities. With a legendary will and smile, Magic Johnson rose from the playground in Lansing, Michigan to become one of the most beloved athletes of our time.”
“Not a bad group, huh?” Biden said with glee at the end of Saturday’s ceremony.
As Biden’s presidency ends in just two weeks, the 82-year-old president left the room of honorees, families and dignitaries with a call to action, seemingly encouraging them as President-elect Donald Trump prepares his controversial return to the White House.
“Our sacred effort continues,” said President Biden, adding, “We have to keep going. As my mother would say, ‘We gotta keep the faith.’”
Gerren Keith Gaynor is a White House Correspondent and the Managing Editor of Politics at theGrio. He is based in Washington, D.C.
