On Friday, President Joe Biden will award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Democrats Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, former Vice President Al Gore, former Secretary of State John Kerry and 16 others. Biden himself received the medal from former President Barack Obama in 2017 during the final month of his vice presidency.
Clarence B. Jones, a 93-year-old lawyer who provided legal counsel to Martin Luther King Jr. and helped write the opening paragraphs of the famous “I Have a Dream” speech, will be honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. Jones initially thought the call from the White House was a prank, but upon realizing it was serious, he felt “very touched” by the recognition of his activism during the Civil Rights Movement.
Jones is one of 19 individuals who will receive the medal from President Joe Biden on Friday. The group includes men and women from various fields such as sports, science, politics, religion, and entertainment. Three medals will be awarded posthumously.
Among the recipients are numerous Democratic politicians, including former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, Rep. James Clyburn, and the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg.
Other honorees include Medgar Evers, who will receive posthumous recognition for his work fighting segregation in Mississippi in the 1960s, actress Michelle Yeoh, who made history as the first Asian woman to win an Academy Award for best actress, and Jim Thorpe, the first Native American to win an Olympic gold medal for the United States.
Despite his age and health challenges, Jones expressed his gratitude and willingness to participate in whatever the White House has planned for him.
Take a look at the full list of recipients —
— Gregory Boyle, a Jesuit Catholic priest who founded and runs Homeboy Industries, a gang-intervention and rehabilitation program.
— Phil Donahue, a journalist and former daytime TV talk-show host.
— Katie Ledecky, the most decorated female swimmer in history.
— Opal Lee, an activist who is best known for pushing to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. Biden did so in 2021.
— Ellen Ochoa, the first Hispanic woman in space and the second female director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center.
— Jane Rigby, an astronomer who is chief scientist of the world’s most powerful telescope. She grew up in Delaware, Biden’s home state.
— Teresa Romero, president of the United Farm Workers and the first Hispanic woman to lead a national union in the U.S. The union has endorsed Biden’s reelection bid and backed him in 2020.
— Judy Shepard, founder of the Matthew Shepard Foundation
— Former Sen. Elizabeth Dole
— Gore
— Jones
— Thorpe
— Yeoh
— Evers
— Bloomberg
— Clyburn
— Kerry
— Pelosi
— Lautenberg
The Associated Press contributed to this article.