The Medal of Freedom: Who will receive the highest U.S. civilian honor in 2022?

On July 7, U.S. President Joe Biden will present the nation’s highest civilian award, the Medal of Freedom. This year’s recipients of the honorary award will be seventeen individuals who, according to the White House, “have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values or security of the United States, world peace, or other important public, public or private causes.”

This year’s recipients include athletes, politicians, human rights and community leaders, entrepreneurs, filmmakers and service members who participated in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. They include:

Steve Jobs.
The famous entrepreneur, who passed away in 2011, will be awarded the Medal of Freedom posthumously. Jobs made history as the co-founder of the Apple Corporation, whose products not only pioneered the development of personal electronics – computers, smartphones, headphones – but still occupy an impressive market segment today. Jobs’ persona is no small part of Apple’s success: his marketing strategies and visionary approach made him a household name in business and among consumers worldwide.

Simone Biles
Simone Biles is the most decorated American gymnast in history. She has 32 medals to her credit for winning Olympic Games and World Championships. In addition to her athletic activities, Biles has tried to bring attention to mental health and athlete safety issues. She was one of the athletes who accused USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar of sexual assault and testified on the issue in a Senate hearing.

Simone Campbell
Campbell is one of the most visible activists in the women’s congregation Sisters of Social Service (SSS). Founded in Hungary in 1923, the organization is a Benedictine order whose work follows the social mission of the Catholic Church. In addition to her work with the SSS, Sister Campbell has served as executive director of NETWORK, a Catholic lobbying organization, and has made numerous statements on economic justice, immigration reform and health policy.

Julieta Garcia
Time magazine named Julieta Garcia one of the best presidents of institutions of higher education, the publication’s praise for her work at the University of Texas at Brownsville, which she led for 22 years. Dr. Garcia was the first Latina to serve as president of the institution and played a leading role in the merger of the University of Texas at Brownsville with the Pan American University of Texas. The merger resulted in the formation of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, where she still serves today.

Gabrielle Giffords
Ex-Congresswoman Gabrielle “Gabby” Giffords made Arizona history as the youngest woman ever elected to the state Senate. She later successfully ran for U.S. Congress as well, becoming the third woman politician from Arizona to hold a seat in the nation’s House of Representatives. Giffords is the co-founder of an organization named in her honor aimed at preventing gun violence. This is due in part to her personal tragic experience that nearly cost Giffords her life: she was seriously injured in 2011 in Tucson, Arizona.

Fred Gray
In 2001, Fred Gray was elected to the Alabama state legislature, becoming the first African American to hold such an office. As an attorney, Gray became known for his involvement in cases related to the protest movement and the struggle of African Americans for equal rights. He has appeared as a defense attorney for such prominent human rights figures as Rosa Parks, Edward Nixon, members of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) and Martin Luther King, who called Gray “the chief counsel of the protest movement.”

Alexander Karloutsos
Father Alexander Karloutsos is the former vicar general of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. After more than 50 years of service as a priest, he was appointed protopresbyter of the Ecumenical Patriarchate by Patriarch Bartholomew. During his period of service, Father Alexander was responsible, among other things, for relations with the heads of other churches, with the leadership of political and civic organizations, and with U.S. government institutions, including the White House and Congress. He is currently rector of the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Southampton, NY.

Khizr Khan
A well-known advocate of religious freedom, Khan has served since 2021 on the USCIRF, a special commission dedicated to studying and recommending religious freedom policies to U.S. authorities.

Khizr Khan and his wife Ghazala found themselves in the American public spotlight in 2016 when they spoke at the Democratic National Convention criticizing Donald Trump. In particular, Khan said that the then-presidential candidate (who later won the election) was disrespectful to Muslims and other minorities.

Sandra Lindsey
Among the public figures and politicians to whom the Medal of Freedom is awarded, the candidacy of nurse Sandra Lindsay seems unusual; yet she was one of those who helped fight one of the major challenges of recent years, the coronavirus pandemic. While working in the intensive care unit of a New York hospital, Lindsay was the first American to receive the COVID-19 vaccine outside of a clinical trial. Subsequently, she has made numerous appearances on public health issues and public access to vaccination.

John McCain
The Medal of Freedom will also be awarded posthumously to a former presidential candidate who is remembered for his political career, rich background and respect among fellow politicians not only from the Republican Party but also the Democratic Party.

A former military pilot and Vietnam War veteran, John McCain passed away in 2018, but before that he was remembered for his years of service in the U.S. House and Senate, where he represented the state of Arizona. He vied for the presidency in 2008, but lost to Democrat Barack Obama, who subsequently spoke highly of his running mate: according to the former president, McCain in his life “put the greater good above his own.”

Diane Nash
The name Diane Nash is well known to members of the civil rights movement in the United States in the second half of the 20th century. An active participant in the civil rights movement Freedom Riders, co-founder of the Student Coordinating Committee for Nonviolent Action, and a prominent figure in many high-profile political actions, Nash was active with Martin Luther King, who praised her contribution “in a nonviolent attack on segregation at the dinner tables. We’re talking about sit-ins, a popular form of protest in which participants demonstratively took their lunch seats at segregated diners.

Megan Rapinoe
In addition to Simone Biles, Megan Rapinoe, a renowned soccer player, Olympic gold medalist, and two-time women’s world champion, will receive the Medal of Freedom. In addition to her successful sports career, Rapinoe is also known for her social activities: she is an advocate of gender wage equality, actively supports racial justice and advocates for the rights of the LGBTQ community.

The Medal of Freedom will be the highest civilian honor in Rapinoe’s account, adding to an impressive list of sports awards: she is already the recipient of the Women’s Golden Ball and the FIFA World Player of the Year.

Alan Simpson
Alan Simpson, 90, is one of three former lawmakers on this year’s list of Medal of Freedom recipients. Simpson represented the state of Wyoming in the U.S. Senate for 18 years. As a member of the Republican Party, he is remembered as a moderate conservative: for example, he supported women’s right to abortion and voted against a ban on late-term abortions.

During his long service, he chaired a number of committees and commissions dealing with very different issues, such as nuclear regulation, immigration and refugee issues, Social Security, veterans policy and others.

Richard Trumka
The Medal of Freedom will be awarded posthumously to Richard Trumka, an influential trade unionist who passed away in 2021. He had a long career with the AFL-CIO, the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Manufacturing Unions, which he led since 2009. The AFL-CIO is the largest union association in the United States, with more than 12 million members.

The White House website states that Trumka has been a fierce advocate for social justice throughout his career. In 2011, Esquire magazine listed him as “American of the Year,” and in 2018 he became the first recipient of the World Peace Prize for Labor Leadership (not to be confused with the Nobel Peace Prize).

Denzel Washington
Denzel Washington is the only cinematic figure to win this year’s highest civilian award. He is the recipient of an impressive list of awards: he has two acting Oscars for “Training Day” and “Glory” (not including eight nominations), three Golden Globes, a Tony Award and two awards from the Berlin Film Festival.

His acclaimed work includes appearances in the dramas “Philadelphia” and “Remembering the Titans,” the thrillers “Rage” and “The Crew,” starring roles in the biopics “Malcolm X” and “Hurricane” and many others. Washington is also known as a producer and director: he is the director of such films as The Controversial, The Antoine Fisher Story and Fences.

Raul Izaguirre
A well-known social activist, Raul Izaguirre served for thirty years as CEO and president of the National Council of La Raza, a major human rights organization that defends the rights of Latinos and advocates for changes in public policy in areas such as immigration, citizenship and reduction of deportations.

During Barack Obama’s presidency he served as U.S. ambassador to the Dominican Republic.