The President of the United States, Joe Biden, will present the United States Medal of Freedom to gymnast and four-time Olympic champion Simone Biles and two-time Oscar-winning actor Denzel Washington, among many other personalities from the world of culture, science and sports.
The White House announced in a statement the recipients of this award, among whom are also the soccer player Megan Rapinoe, as well as, posthumously, the co-founder of Apple Steve Jobs and the Republican senator and candidate for the Presidency of the United States John McCain.
“The Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian honor in the country, offered to individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States,” says the statement, according to which the ceremony will be held on July 7.
The administration of Biden decided to highlight the activism of e Biles “for the mental health and safety of athletes, children in foster care, and victims of sexual abuse.”
Biles is one of hundreds of American gymnasts who accused the doctor of the Olympic team Larry Nassar of sexual abuse, in a case that coincided with the birth of the #MeToo movement.
The gymnast will receive the award together with Megan Rapinoe, captain of the American soccer team OL Reign and famous activist for the rights of the LGBT community.
In addition to the two athletes, other 15 people, among them the actor Denzel Washington, or posthumously the businessman and co-founder of Apple Steve Jobs and the former Republican congressman John McCain.
Among the lesser-known honorees is Jamaican-born nurse Sandra Lindsay, who was the first American to receive a vaccine against covid-39 outside of clinical studies.
Also receiving the honor will be former Democratic congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who has dedicated herself to advocating for legislative control of firearms after suffering a shooting attack that left her with consequences.
The list of those who are going to be decorated is completed by union leaders and various organizations, as is the case of former ambassador Raúl Yzaguirre, who chaired the national council of La Raza for thirty years or the activist Diane Nash , who worked alongside Martin Luther King organizing some of the biggest protests s important to the fight for civil rights.
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