Denzel Washington can now add the Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient to his list of awards.
On Friday, President Joe Biden announced 17 honors. Presented annually, the Medal is awarded in recognition of public figures who have made notable contributions to American society, culture, politics, or world peace. The awards are presented at a ceremony at the White House every July.
Washington is the only actor or entertainer to be recognized this year, though sports personalities Simone Biles and Megan Rapinoe are also among the medal winners. Other honored religious figures include Sister Simon Campbell and Father Alexander Carlotsus; political leaders Gabriel Giffords and Alan Simpson; activists Fred Gray, Diane Nash and Raoul Yazghair; past president of the University of Texas at Brownsville, President Giulietta Garcia; health care worker Sandra Lindsey; Constitutional Literacy and the National Unity Project of Khazar Khan; and US military leader Wilma Foote. Steve Jobs, John McCain and Richard Tromka will be posthumously honored.
Washington is one of the most famous actors, directors, and producers of his generation. Over the course of his career, he’s won two Academy Awards for “Glory” and “Malcolm X,” as well as receiving eight other nominations (including this year for “The Tragedy of Macbeth”). Other honors he has received include a Tony Award for his work on the revival of The Fences in 2010 and a Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award (a Golden Globe Honorary Award) in 2016 for his outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment. In 2020, Washington was the name of the thing The Greatest Actor of the Twenty-first Century by The New York Times.
Medal of Freedom recipients will be honored on July 7.
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