The Women Who Received The 2013 Presidential Medal of Freedom

Cheryl Isaac, Contributor

Sally Ride, the first American woman in space. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It is an award given to “men and women who have dedicated their own lives to enriching ours,” said President Obama. The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the nation’s highest civilian honor, given to individuals who have made significant contributions to the national interests of the United States, to world peace, or cultural endeavors.
The 2013 Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients formed an impressive array: from Former President Bill Clinton, to the Washington Post’s Ben Bradlee, from jazz musician Arturo Sandoval to the Chicago Cubs’ Ernie Banks and psychologist, Daniel Kahneman whose mention brought this joke from President Obama, “All of us have moments when we look back and wonder, what the heck was I thinking? I had that quite a bit.”

 

For an award that speaks a thousand words, the ceremony itself is equal parts lightheartedness and ceremonialism. In fact this is what first caught my attention a year ago when for the first time—yes, I shamefully admit this— I really sat still to view the entire  ceremony. There I was, flipping through channels, when I came across President Obama giving an anecdotal speech. Curious, I paused to watch as one of my favorite authors, Toni Morrison, was mentioned. From then on I was really interested in this award which honors men and women of such different backgrounds.
This year I pulled up a chair to again view the ceremony on TV. The women awarded were encouraging because of how their groundbreaking accomplishments have also helped empower other women:
Sally Ride.  Dr. Sally Ride was a physicist and astronaut, the co-author of several children’s science books who in her early thirties, became the first American woman in space. Ride, a former professor of physics at the University of California led outreach programs for NASA and spent her life promoting science and math education for girls—a life’s purpose that according to the President, has also affected both his daughters: Sasha and Malia.
Loretta Lynn. A coal miner’s daughter from Kentucky, Lynn is an author (her autobiography, Coal Miner’s Daughter quickly became a bestseller), songwriter, and chart-topping American country music singer. Since becoming a singer in her twenties, Lynn focused on blue-collar women’s issues and did not mind blasting through the boundaries that were previously set in the country music genre.  In 1980 she was the only woman to be given the title, “Artist of the Decade” by the Academy of Country Music.
Gloria Steinem. An activist, writer, editor and lecturer, Gloria Steinem has made it her life’s goals to enrich the lives of women. As has been noted here on Forbes Woman, she is a “revolutionist .” Establishing her career as a freelance writer and reporter in the 1960s, Steinem became a pioneer of the women’s movement, using her writing prowess to educate and empower women via engaging articles and essays (even writing a few bestselling books on women’s issues).  She first helped create New York magazine, later, co-founded Ms. Magazine, which according to the magazine’s website, was “the first U.S. magazine to rate presidential candidates on women’s issues.” Today, Steinem is at times also the voice of reasoning for the next generation of women.
Oprah Winfrey.  America’s only African-American billionaire—according to Forbes—Oprah Winfrey is one of the world’s most successful broadcast journalists–despite having been advised to change her name in order to become successful. Once heading the highest rated talk show in America for twenty five years, what will most likely go down in history as Oprah’s biggest accomplishment is the startup of her brainchild television network, OWN.  Of all her humanitarian efforts however, perhaps her most underrated, yet inherently valuable project is her Leadership Academy For Girls in South Africa  (read the fascinating reportage from Forbes’ Clare O’Connor here).
Patricia Wald. Patricia Wald is the first woman appointed to the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, The Honorable Patricia Wald served as Chief Judge from 1986-1991. According to Legal Times, which honored the retired judge in 2008, Wald was the first woman associate in 1952 to be hired at Arnold, Fortas & Porter. She is known for her pragmatic handling of cases involving women and children and is an inductee of the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame.
Did you watch the ceremony? What did you think?

I write about global entrepreneurship and economic tidbits for women. I also talk about starting up on Twitter.