South Carolina congressman Jim Clyburn to receive presidential Medal of Freedom By Nick Reynolds 3 hrs ago COLUMBIA — South Carolina Democratic congressman Jim Clyburn will receive the highest civilian honor the United States can bestow from longtime friend President Joe Biden in a May 3 ceremony at the White House, the Biden administration announced.
In a news release, Clyburn was named along with 18 other individuals as recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
The medal is tied to individuals who had made "exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavors."
"These nineteen Americans built teams, coalitions, movements, organizations, and businesses that shaped America for the better," Biden said in a statement. "They are the pinnacle of leadership in their fields. They consistently demonstrated over their careers the power of community, hard work, and service."
Other recipients include:
Michael R. Bloomberg, philanthropist and former New York City mayor Gregory J. Boyle, Jesuit Catholic priest and nonprofit leader Elizabeth Dole, former U.S. senator and Red Cross president Phil Donahue, journalist and talk show host Medgar Wiley Evers, civil rights leader and World War II veteran Al Gore, former vice president, U.S. senator and Nobel Prize winner Clarence B. Jones, civil rights leader and "I Have a Dream" speech co-author John Forbes Kerry, former secretary of state, Vietnam veteran and U.S. senator Frank R. Lautenberg, longest-serving senator in New Jersey history Kathleen Genevieve Ledecky, seven-time Olympic gold medal winner Opal Lee, educator and activist best known for her efforts to make Juneteenth a federally recognized holiday Ellen Ochoa, astronaut and first Hispanic woman in space Nancy D’Alesandro Pelosi, two-time Speaker of the House and California congresswoman for more than 36 years. Jane Rigby, astronomer Teresa Romero, president of the United Farm Workers and the first Latina to become president of a national union in the United States Judy Shepard, LGBTQ+ activist and co-founder of the Matthew Shephard Foundation James Francis Thorpe, multisport athlete and the first Native American to win an Olympic gold medal. Michelle Yeoh, actress and Oscar winner.
Clyburn, 83, has represented South Carolina in Congress since 1993. A close friend of Biden who was largely credited for delivering Biden the Democratic nomination for president in 2020, Clyburn also stands as an icon of racial progress in South Carolina.
Before becoming the first Black man elected to represent South Carolina in Congress since 1893 and, later, the first Black House Majority Whip in the history of Congress, Clyburn played a key role in the election of Charleston city councilman St. Julian Devine's bid to become the first member of the council since reconstruction and, under Gov. John C. West, became the first African American advisor to a South Carolina governor in state history.
In the years since, Clyburn has played a prominent role in efforts to preserve and restore historic buildings on the campuses of Historically Black Colleges and Universities and, in 2022, helped lead efforts to expand the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site to include several sites in South Carolina.
The White House declined additional comment. Clyburn's office could not be reached for immediate comment.
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