President Obama named 19 recipients Monday for the Medal of Freedom, including three slain civil rights workers from the 1960s, network journalist Tom Brokaw, Ethel Kennedy, singer Stevie Wonder, actress Meryl Streep and Rep. John D. Dingell of Michigan, the longest-serving lawmaker in U.S. history.
The president will bestow the nation’s highest civilian honor to the recipients at the White House on Nov. 24. The award will go posthumously to James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, civil rights activists who were slain in Mississippi in 1964 while working to register blacks to vote.
“I look forward to presenting these nineteen bold, inspiring Americans with our nation’s highest civilian honor,” Mr. Obama said in a statement. “From activists who fought for change to artists who explored the furthest reaches of our imagination; from scientists who kept America on the cutting edge to public servants who help write new chapters in our American story, these citizens have made extraordinary contributions to our country and the world.”
Also receiving the award will be Mr. Dingell, a Democrat who has served in the House since 1955; author Isabel Allende; the late choreographer Alvin Ailey; physicist Mildred Dresselhaus; Mrs. Kennedy, widow of Robert F. Kennedy; writer Suzan Harjo; former Rep. Abner Mikva of Illinois; former Rep. Patsy Takemoto Mink of Hawaii; the late Rep. Edward Roybal of California; golfer Charles Sifford, who helped desegregate professional golf; economist Robert Solow; composer Stephen Sondheim; Miss Streep; actress Marlo Thomas and Mr. Wonder, who has been elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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