Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Marian Wright Edelman, Rev. Gardner C. Taylor Awarded Presidential Medal Of Freedom

Jet, August 28, 2000

President Clinton presented the 15 illustrious figures with the nation's highest civilian honor bestowed by the U.S. Government and a citation, saying those awarded "have helped America to achieve freedom."

Jackson, founder and president of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, was described as "a tireless advocate for peace, international understanding and human dignity" by Clinton.

Clinton introduced Jackson by saying, "You are now about to witness one of the best things about this ceremony--for a change, I don't have to follow Jesse Jackson. But the truth is, America has followed Reverend Jackson, as he marched with Dr. King, walked the picket lines, ran for our nation's highest office, instilling hope and inspiring millions, beginning with his own remarkable family.

"From the streets of Watts to the hollows of Appalachia, as my Special Envoy to Africa, and leader of Rainbow/PUSH, he has walked the walk of freedom. When I think of Rainbow/ PUSH, I think of two things--rainbow means we've all got a place at the table; push is what Jesse does when he thinks I'm not doing right. The cause of justice has no greater co-worker than Jesse Jackson," said Clinton of Jackson who last year helped to win the freedom for three American prisoners of war in Yugoslavia (JET, May 17, 1999).

He continued, "It's hard to imagine how we could have come as far as we have without the creative power, the keen intellect, the loving heart, and the relentless passion of Jesse Louis Jackson. And God isn't done with him yet."

Edelman, president of the Children's Defense Fund, was compared by Clinton to pioneering opera singer Marian Anderson.

"The power and range of this Marian's voice is even greater. It brought Robert Kennedy to Mississippi, helped to organize the Poor People's Campaign, inspired Hillary and thousands of other citizens, young and old, to join her through the years in the crusade that has become known as the Children's Defense Fund, the base from which she has changed the future for millions of America's children, by grass-roots actions and successful lobbying in Congress, for health care, child care, education and so much more."

Clinton added, "Like her namesake, Marian's voice is always strong and true, singing that we are all children of God and, therefore, must protect all our children."

The Rev. Gardner C. Taylor, leader of the powerful Concord Baptist Church of Christ in Brooklyn, was named the greatest Black preacher and one of America's greatest preachers by his peers in the EBONY article "The 15 Greatest Black Preachers" in 1993.

James Coston, who was then president of the Interdenominational Theologian School, said Taylor "stands alone" as "the president, dean, provost and master artisan of Black preaching ... hearing him preach gives one the impression that he has a direct pipeline to God."

Not surprisingly, Clinton showered the same type of praise upon Taylor prior to presenting the acclaimed preacher with a Medal of Freedom.

"For at least 20 years now, if anyone made a list of the five or six greatest preachers in America, Gardner Taylor would always be at the top," cited the president of the noted author and civil rights supporter. "For those of us who heard him preach, and those of us whom he has counseled in his private wisdom, we know we have been in the presence of not only a man of God, but a great American citizen."

Other honorees included retiring Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY); former U.S. Sen. George McGovern; leading economist John Kenneth Galbraith; retired Gen. Wesley Clark; retired Adm. William Crowe; chairman of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America James Edward Burke; women's labor activist Mildred Jeffrey; founder of the AIDS Medical Foundation Dr. Mathilde Krim; pioneering Hispanic California Supreme Court Justice Cruz Reynoso; labor activist Monsignor George Higgins; and concentration camp survivor Simon Wiesenthal. Rhode Island Sen. John Chafee, who died last year, was posthumously honored.

President John F. Kennedy established the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Executive Order on February 22, 1963, and announced the first Presidential Medal of Freedom award recipients that same year; however, Kennedy was assassinated before he could hand out the bronze medals. President Lyndon B. Johnson did and added Kennedy's name to the list.

The honor is awarded by the president only to those persons he deems to have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interest of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors. Citizens of other nations may receive the Medal and honorees may receive it posthumously.

Over the course of Clinton's presidency, he has handed out 83 of the distinguished awards.