Today's Date: March 28, 2024
Make-A-Wish and celebrity wish granters announce goal to recruit 1 million people to become "WishMakers"   •   Fosun Management on 2023 Annual Results: Focusing on Core Industries with Established Advantages   •   Torrid Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2023 Results and Initiates Fiscal 2024 Guidance   •   Sypher Secures Strategic Partnership with FAIA to Fuel Growth   •   Fastenal Releases 2024 Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Report   •   Re:wild and Colossal Biosciences team up to leverage revolutionary technology to save critically endangered species on the brink   •   Coachella Concerned That People Have Sex, Says AHF   •   Carnegie Learning Named 2024 SIIA CODiE Award Finalist for Best Educational Game and Best AI Implementation in Ed Tech   •   Equalpride Partners with TransLash Media for Trans Day of Visibility, Amplifying Voices of Black Trans Femmes in the Arts   •   Amerex Group Unveils Red Carter Swimwear's Revitalized Collection   •   John Legend to Perform at City Year Los Angeles’ 13th Annual Spring Break Event   •   Empire State Realty Trust Receives WELL Health-Safety Leadership Award; Becomes Among the First Commercial Office and Multifamil   •   Taro Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. Expands OTC Portfolio for Children with the Introduction of bébé Bottoms™   •   YMCA of the USA Partners With Old Spice To Increase High School Graduation Among Boys And Young Men Of Color Through Mentorship   •   Jamieson Wellness Publishes Inaugural Sustainability Impact Report   •   Visit Visalia Recognizes Autism Awareness Month in April   •   VIRGIN HOTELS CHAMPIONS INCLUSIVE TRAVEL FOR NEURODIVERSE TRAVELERS   •   National University Receives 2024 Military Friendly® Gold Designation   •   Parkland Corporation Announces the Results of the 2024 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders   •   Suffolk Kicks off 2024 “Build With Us @ Suffolk” Program in Boston for Trade Partners, Opening Doors for Minority-,
Bookmark and Share

Medal Of Freedom For Angelou, Lewis and Russell




Commentary by Marc H. Morial, President National Urban League



WASHINGTON - “These outstanding honorees…have lived extraordinary lives that have inspired us, enriched our culture, and made our country and our world a better place.”  President Barack Obama

With all the drama surrounding jobs and tax cuts lately, you may have missed a recent bit of good news.  President Obama has announced that next year, he will present the 2010 Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, to 14 outstanding individuals.  Among them are Maya Angelou, Bill Russell and John Lewis, three African Americans who overcame barriers of hatred and racism to make historic contributions to American democracy, human dignity and civil rights.

Dating back to the Administration of President Truman, the Medal of Freedom is “presented to individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.”  Past winners have included Mother Teresa, Colin Powell, Dorothy Height, Thurgood Marshall and Duke Ellington.  We applaud President Obama for adding Maya Angelou, John Lewis, and Bill Russell to that esteemed company.  In making his announcement here is what the President said:

“Dr. Maya Angelou is a prominent and celebrated author, poet, educator, producer, actress, filmmaker, and civil rights activist, who is currently the Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University.  She has served on two presidential committees, was awarded the Presidential Medal for the Arts in 2000 and the Lincoln Medal in 2008.

John Lewis is an American hero and a giant of the Civil Rights Movement.  He served as chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), helped to organize the first lunch-counter sit-in in 1959 at the age of 19, and was the youngest speaker at the 1963 March on Washington.  In May 1961, he participated in the initial Freedom Ride, during which he endured violent attacks in Rock Hill, South Carolina, and Montgomery, Alabama.  In 1964, he helped to coordinate the Mississippi Freedom Project, and, in 1965, he led the Selma-to-Montgomery march to petition for voting rights where marchers were brutally confronted in an incident that became known as “Bloody Sunday.”  Eight days later, President Johnson addressed a joint session of Congress, condemned the violence in Selma, and called for passage of the Voting Rights Act, which was enacted within months.  Since 1987, John Lewis has continued his service to the nation as the U.S. Representative for Georgia’s 5th District, which encompasses all of Atlanta.

Bill Russell is the former Boston Celtics’ Captain who almost single-handedly redefined the game of basketball.  Russell led the Celtics to a virtually unparalleled string of eleven championships in thirteen years and was named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player five times.  The first African American to coach in the NBA—indeed he was the first to coach a major sport at the professional level in the United States—Bill Russell is also an impassioned advocate of human rights.  He marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and has been a consistent advocate of equality.”

As we enter the holiday season, let us pause to give thanks for these three outstanding Medal of Freedom honorees who continue to light our way.




STORY TAGS: BLACKS, AFRICAN AMERICAN, MINORITIES, CIVIL RIGHTS, DISCRIMINATION, RACISM, RACIAL EQUALITY, BIAS, EQUALITY, AFRO AMERICANS

Video

White House Live Stream
LIVE VIDEO EVERY SATURDAY
alsharpton Rev. Al Sharpton
9 to 11 am EST
jjackson Rev. Jesse Jackson
10 to noon CST


Video

LIVE BROADCASTS
Sounds Make the News ®
WAOK-Urban
Atlanta - WAOK-Urban
KPFA-Progressive
Berkley / San Francisco - KPFA-Progressive
WVON-Urban
Chicago - WVON-Urban
KJLH - Urban
Los Angeles - KJLH - Urban
WKDM-Mandarin Chinese
New York - WKDM-Mandarin Chinese
WADO-Spanish
New York - WADO-Spanish
WBAI - Progressive
New York - WBAI - Progressive
WOL-Urban
Washington - WOL-Urban

Listen to United Natiosns News