CLINTON PRESENTS MEDAL OF FREEDOM TO 15 HEROIC MEN AND WOMEN
USIA
USIS Washington File
15 January 1998
CLINTON PRESENTS MEDAL OF FREEDOM TO 15 HEROIC MEN AND WOMEN
(Honorees promoted human rights, justice and peace) (890)
By Wendy S. Ross
USIA White House Correspondent
Washington -- President Clinton chose the 69th birthday of slain civil
rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. to present the 1998 Presidential
Medal of Freedom to 15 "heroic men and women" dedicated to Dr. King's
cause of equality and opportunity.
"It is fitting that today this ceremony occurs on the birthday of
Martin Luther King, Jr., who 21 years ago was granted this award by
President Carter posthumously to ensure that his legacy would live
on," Clinton said in a January 15 White House East Room ceremony
attended by most of the honorees and their families.
"Until every child has the opportunity to live up to his or her
God-given potential, free from want in a world at peace, Dr. King's
work and our work is not yet done," Clinton said.
"All of our honorees have helped America to widen the circle of
democracy by fighting for human rights, by righting social wrongs, by
empowering others to achieve, by preserving our precious environment,
by extending peace around the world," the President said.
The recipients include Congress of Racial Equality founder James
Farmer, whose 1942 peaceful sit-in at a Chicago coffee shop
foreshadowed the national civil rights movement that Dr. King would
lead beginning in 1956. "He and the other founders of the Congress of
Racial Equality organized the nation's first sit-in and launched an
era of non-violent protests for civil rights," Clinton said.
Farmer "has never sought the limelight and, until today, I frankly
think he's never gotten the credit he deserved for the contribution he
has made to the freedom of African Americans and other minorities in
their equal opportunities in America," Clinton said.
Another honoree, Wilma Mankiller, the former two-time chief of the
Cherokee Nation, "during her two terms in office ... was not only the
guardian of the centuries-old Cherokee heritage, but a revered leader
who built a brighter and healthier future for her nation," President
Clinton said.
Also honored were: Arnold Aronson, who co-founded the U.S. Leadership
Conference on Civil Rights; Justin Dart, who spearheaded civil rights
legislation for the disabled; Hispanic activist Mario Obledo and
Japanese-American activist Fred Korematsu, who was convicted for
defying the order which forced internment of Japanese-Americans during
World War II.
Other honorees were socialite and philanthropist Brooke Astor, for her
dedication to causes ranging from helping the needy to cultural
enrichment; financier David Rockefeller, for his efforts to promote
world peace; Margaret Murie, a pioneer of the environmental movement;
former President of the American Federation of Teachers Albert
Shanker, honored posthumously for his efforts to improve the quality
of public education in the United States; Frances Hesselbein for
reinvigorating the Girl Scouts of America program, and psychiatrist
Robert Coles, whose studies of childhood experience provided insights
into the impact of poverty and racism on children's lives.
President Clinton also awarded the Medal of Freedom to three former
public officials, Elliot Richardson, Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, and Sol
Linowitz.
Richardson "gave courageous and deeply moral service to our nation as
Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, Secretary of Defense,
Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Secretary of Commerce...and, of
course, as Attorney General (under Richard Nixon) where on one
difficult Saturday night he saved the nation from a constitutional
crisis with his courage and moral clarity," Clinton said.
Following the death of his son from a cancer linked to his exposure to
Agent Orange as a junior officer in Vietnam, Admiral Zumwalt dedicated
himself to fighting for Vietnam war veterans with similar or related
ailments, Clinton said. Zumwalt "established the first national marrow
donor program, to help cancer patients in need. He never stopped
fighting for the interests, the rights and the dignity of those
soldiers and sailors, airmen and Marines and their families... He is
one of the greatest models of integrity and leadership and genuine
humanity our nation has ever produced" Clinton said.
Linowitz enriched the lives of millions around the world and made
lasting contributions to the pursuit of world peace in a series of
high-level diplomatic assignments, Clinton said.
Clinton said all the honorees had led "remarkable lives" some spanning
nearly the entire century. This shows, he said, that "even a long,
long life doesn't take long to live and passes in the flash of any
eye. They have shown us that if we live it well, we can leave this
Earth better for our children."
The First Lady said the "lives and contributions" of the 15 Medal of
Freedom recipients "make up some of the most important chapters of the
American story. The story of a nation struggling to end the plague of
discrimination. The story of Americans working to preserve our culture
and our environment," and working for the cause of peace at home and
abroad. "Theirs is really the story of human progress. A tale of what
can be accomplished by the most powerful person in any democracy --
the citizen."
The Presidential Medal of Freedom Award is given annually. The first
awards were announced in 1963 by President Kennedy, but following his
death in November, were presented to the recipients by President
Johnson at the White House on December 6, 1963.