President Obama Honors Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients

President Barack Obama awards the 2013 Presidential Medal of Freedom to Oprah Winfrey during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House, Nov. 20, 2013.
President Barack Obama awards the 2013 Presidential Medal of Freedom to Oprah Winfrey during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House, Nov. 20, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

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President Barack Obama delivers awards the 2013 Presidential Medal of Freedom to minister, author, and close friend and lieutenant of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., Cordy Tindell “C.T.” Vivian, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House, Nov. 20, 2013.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom, established 50 years ago by President John F. Kennedy, is our nation’s highest civilian honor. The medal has been presented to more than 500 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.”

On Nov. 20, in a ceremony at the White House, President Obama added 16 names to that distinguished list including media mogul Oprah Winfrey and civil rights activist, Cordy Tindell “C.T.” Vivian:

Other recipients of the 2013 Presidential Medal of Freedom included sports champions and scientists, musicians and, activists and journalists, and public servants.

“These are the men and women who in their extraordinary lives remind us all of the beauty of the human spirit, the values that define us as Americans, the potential that lives inside of all of us,” President Obama said.

The full list of 2013 Medal of Freedom honorees inlcludes: Ernie Banks, Ben Bradlee, former President Bill Clinton, Daniel Inouye (posthumous), Daniel Kahneman, Richard Lugar, Loretta Lynn, Mario Molina, Sally Ride (posthumous), Bayard Rustin (posthumous), Arturo Sandoval, Dean Smith, Gloria Steinem, Cordy Tindell "C.T." Vivian, Patricia Wald, and Oprah Winfrey.

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