(Washington) President
Barack Obama today named gay civil rights pioneer Harvey Milk and tennis great
(and open lesbian) Billie Jean King as two of 16 recipients of the 2009
Presidential Medal of Freedom.   

America’s highest
civilian honor, the Medal of Freedom is awarded to individuals who make an
especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the
United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private
endeavors.

From the White
House press release:

“This year’s
awardees were chosen for their work as agents of change.  Among their many
accomplishments in fields ranging from sports and art to science and medicine to
politics and public policy, these men and women have changed the world for the
better.  They have blazed trails and broken down barriers.  They have discovered
new theories, launched new initiatives, and opened minds to new
possibilities.

President
Obama said, “These
outstanding men and women represent an incredible diversity of backgrounds. 
Their tremendous accomplishments span fields from science to sports, from fine
arts to foreign affairs.  Yet they share one overarching trait: Each has been an
agent of change.  Each saw an imperfect world and set about improving it, often
overcoming great obstacles along the way.   

“Their relentless
devotion to breaking down barriers and lifting up their fellow citizens sets a
standard to which we all should strive.  It is my great honor to award them the
Medal of Freedom.”

President Obama
will present the awards at a ceremony on Wed., Aug. 12.”

Other awardees
include Nancy Goodman Brinker, the founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the
world’s leading breast cancer awareness organization; Stephen Hawking, the
internationally-recognized theoretical physicist; Sen. Edward Kennedy; Desmund
Tutu; Chita Rivera; Mary Robinson, the former President of Ireland; and Sidney
Poitier.

Billie Jean
King

Billie Jean King
was an acclaimed professional tennis player in the 1960s and 1970s, and has
helped champion gender equality issues not only in sports, but in all areas of
public life.  King beat Bobby Riggs in the “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match,
then the most viewed tennis match in history.  King became one of the first
openly lesbian major sports figures in America when she came out in 1981. 
Following her professional tennis career, King became the first woman
commissioner in professional sports when she co-founded and led the World Team
Tennis (WTT) League.  The U.S. Tennis Association named the National Tennis
Center, where the US Open is played, the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center
in 2006. 

Harvey
Milk

Harvey Milk became
the first openly gay elected official from a major city in the United States
when he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. Milk
encouraged lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) citizens to live their
lives openly and believed coming out was the only way they could change society
and achieve social equality. Milk, alongside San Francisco Mayor George Moscone,
was shot and killed in 1978 by Dan White, a former city supervisor.  Milk is
revered nationally and globally as a pioneer of the LGBT civil rights movement
for his exceptional leadership and dedication to equal rights.