Denzel Washington, Gymnast Simone Biles Among 2022 Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients

Oscar winner Denzel Washington, gymnast Simone Biles and Apple co-founder Steve Jobs are among 17 recipients of this year’s Presidential Medal of Freedom, the White House announced today.

Awarded to individuals who have made “exemplary contributions to the welfare, values, or security of the United States, to world peace, or to other important public or private endeavors,” the medal is the nation’s highest civilian honor.

Other winners include the late Senator John McCain, former Congressman Gabby Giffords and Olympic gold medalist Megan Rapinoe. See the full list below.

Winner of two Academy Awards and a Tony Award, among other awards, Washington has been the national spokesperson for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America for over 25 years.

The awards will be presented at the White House on Thursday, July 7th.

The following individuals will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom:

• gall bladder She is the most decorated American gymnast in history with a total of 32 World and Olympic medals. Biles is also a well-known advocate for the mental health and safety of athletes, foster children, and sexual abuse survivors.
• and Simon Campbell Member of the Sisters of Social Service and former Executive Director of NETWORK, a Catholic social justice organization. She is also a leading advocate for economic justice, immigration reform, and health policy, she.
• Julieta Garcia He is the former president of the University of Texas at Brownsville, where he was named one of Time Magazine’s Outstanding University Presidents. Dr. Garcia was the first Hispanic woman to serve as university rector and devoted her career to students in the Southwest border region.
• Former Congressman Gabby Giffords She was the youngest woman elected to the Arizona State Senate and served first in the Arizona Legislature and later in the United States Congress. As a gun violence survivor, she founded Giffords, a nonprofit dedicated to gun violence prevention.
• fred gray He was one of the first black members of the Alabama State Legislature after Reconstruction. As an attorney, he represented Rosa Parks, the NAACP, and Martin Luther King, Jr., who called himself “the protest movement’s main counsel.”
• Steve jobs (died 2011) was the co-founder and CEO of Apple, Inc. and CEO of Pixar and held a leadership position at The Walt Disney Company. His vision, imagination and creativity led to inventions that have changed and continue to change the way the world communicates, and he has transformed the computer, music, film and wireless industries.
• Father Alexander Karloutsos Former Vicar of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. After more than 50 years as a priest advising many US presidents, His Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew appointed him Proto-Priest of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
• Cizr Khaniler Gold Star Father and Founder of the Center for Constitutional Literacy and National Unity. He is a prominent advocate of the rule of law and freedom of religion and has served on the United States International Commission on Religious Freedom under President Biden.
• sandra lindsay A New York City intensive care nurse at the forefront of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He was the first American to receive a COVID-19 vaccine outside of clinical trials and is a leading advocate for vaccines and mental health for healthcare professionals.
• John McCain (Died 2018) was a public servant who received the Purple Heart with a gold star for his service in the US Navy in Vietnam. He also served the people of Arizona for decades in the United States House of Representatives and Senate, and was the Republican Party’s nominee for President in 2008.
• Diana Nash She is a founding member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, which organizes some of the most important civil rights campaigns of the 20th century. Nash describes himself as a “leading spirit in the nonviolent offensive against discrimination at the food stalls,” as Martin Luther King, Jr. worked closely with
• Megan Rapinois Olympic gold medalist and two-time Women’s World Championship champion. She is also the captain of OL Reign in the National Women’s Football League, she. She is a prominent advocate for gender equality, racial justice and LGBTQI+ rights.
• Alan Simpson He served as a United States Senator from Wyoming for 18 years. During her civil service, she was a prominent advocate for issues such as campaign finance reform, responsible government, and marriage equality.
• Richard Trumka (died in 2021) was president of the 12.5 million AFL-CIO, chairman of the United Mine Workers, and treasurer secretary of the AFL-CIO for over a decade. Throughout his career, he has been an outspoken advocate of social and economic justice.
• Brigadier General Vilma Voutis One of the most decorated women in the history of the U.S. military, she has repeatedly crossed gender barriers as she rises through the ranks. When she retired in 1985, she was one of seven female generals in the armed forces.
• Denzel Washington He is an actor, director, and producer who has won two Academy Awards, a Tony Award, two Golden Globes, and a Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award. She has also served as the national spokesperson for Boys & Girls Clubs of America for over 25 years.
• Raul Izaghire is a civil rights activist who has served as executive director and president of the La Raza National Council for three decades. He also served as the US Ambassador to the Dominican Republic during the presidency of Barack Obama.