Johnson, the NASA mathematician, broke barriers of gender and race as she ascended to a position tracing the paths for early space flights, Obama said. He won three MVP awards and is in the Hall of Fame with Mays, who played two seasons with the Mets and with the NY baseball Giants.
Advertisement
It’s America’s highest civilian honor, chosen by President Obama.
President Obama on Tuesday awarded seventeen individuals the Presidential Medal of Freedom, an “extraordinary” group of artists, athletes, and politicians that included Steven Spielberg, Barbara Streisand and Willie Mays. I told him then what I ll tell all of you now – it s because of giants like Willie that someone like me could even think about running for President.
Among other entertainment stars honored were music producer Emilio Estefan and pop star Gloria Estefan, a Cuban American couple seen as trailblazers for being Spanish-language stars who successfully crossed over to the English-language market.
Of Hamilton, Obama said he helped guide the nation through the Cold War and had a consistent commitment to bipartisanship. “His work has helped define American theater with shows such as Company, West Side Story, Gypsy, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George, and Into the Woods”.
As recounted in Joseph Telushkin’s 2014 book, “Rebbe”, Schneerson said to her: “What a blessing God has given you”.
Advertisement
Obama also gave medals to relatives of four honorees who have died: baseball catcher Yogi Berra, U.S. Representative Shirley Chisholm, Indian treaty rights advocate Billy Frank Jr., and Japanese-American civil rights activist Minoru Yasui. “They want to make a pitch, ‘So there is this really good looking president…” “In his career, Steven has introduced us to extra-terrestrials, rogue archaeologists, killer sharks, he’s taken us to Neverland and Jurassic Park, but also the beaches of Normandy and Nazi concentration camps”, the president said. “As a composer and a lyricist, and a genre unto himself, Sondheim challenges his audiences”, he said.
