Obama Awards Harvey Milk and Billie Jean King the Medal of Freedom

President Obama today named 16 recipients of the 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is America’s highest civilian honor, and is awarded to individuals who make an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors and are chosen for their work as agents of change.

This year’s awardees included two LGBT’s… Pioneer gay civil rights leader Harvey Milk and tennis great and out lesbian Billie Jean King.

Also awarded the medal were; Nancy Goodman Brinker, the founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the world’s leading breast cancer grass roots organization; Dr. Pedro Jose Greer ,the founder of Camillus Health Concern, an agency that provides medical care to over 10,000 homeless patients a year in the city of Miami; Stephen Hawking the internationally-recognized theoretical physicist, who overcame a severe physical disability due to ALS; Jack Kemp, who passed away in May 2009 after serving as a U.S. Congressman (1971 – 1989), Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (1989 – 1993), and Republican Nominee for Vice President (1996) and led the Buffalo Bills to American Football League championships in 1964 and 1965; Senator Edward M. Kennedy who has served in the United States Senate for forty-six years, and has been one of the greatest lawmakers – and leaders – of our time; The Reverend Joseph Lowery, a leader in the U.S. civil rights movement since the early 1950s; Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow, the last living Plains Indian war chief; Justice Sandra O’Connor, the first woman ever to sit on the United States Supreme Court; groundbreaking actor Sidney Poitier; Actress Chita Rivera; Bishop Desmond TuTu; Mary Robinson was the first female President of Ireland and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights; Janet Davison Rowley, M.D; and Dr. Muhammad Yunus, a global leader in anti-poverty efforts.

In his announcement President Obama said, “These outstanding men and women represent an incredible diversity of backgrounds. Their tremendous accomplishments span fields from science to sports, from fine arts to foreign affairs. Yet they share one overarching trait: Each has been an agent of change. Each saw an imperfect world and set about improving it, often overcoming great obstacles along the way.

“Their relentless devotion to breaking down barriers and lifting up their fellow citizens sets a standard to which we all should strive. It is my great honor to award them the Medal of Freedom.”

Harvey Milk became the first openly gay elected official from a major city in the United States when he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. Milk encouraged lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) citizens to live their lives openly and believed coming out was the only way they could change society and achieve social equality. Milk, alongside San Francisco Mayor George Moscone, was shot and killed in 1978 by Dan White, a former city supervisor. Milk is revered nationally and globally as a pioneer of the LGBT civil rights movement for his exceptional leadership and dedication to equal rights.

Image via Wikipedia

Billie Jean King was an acclaimed professional tennis player in the 1960s and 1970s, and has helped champion gender equality issues not only in sports, but in all areas of public life. King beat Bobby Riggs in the “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match, then the most viewed tennis match in history. King became one of the first openly lesbian major sports figures in America when she came out in 1981. Following her professional tennis career, King became the first woman commissioner in professional sports when she co-founded and led the World Team Tennis (WTT) League. The U.S. Tennis Association named the National Tennis Center, where the US Open is played, the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in 2006.

President Obama will present the awards at a ceremony on Wednesday, August 12 at the White House.