President Biden on Friday announced the seventeen honorees for this year’s Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. The honorees, who come from politics, activism, sports, and business, will be honored at a White House ceremony on July 7. 

The honorees include the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, the late Sen. John McCain, Olympic gymnast Simone Biles, Sister Simone Campbell of the social justice organization NETWORK, University of Texas-Brownsville President Dr. Julieta García, former congresswoman and activist Gabrielle Giffords, attorney and legislator Fred Gray, Fr. Alexander Karloutsos of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, Gold Star father Khizr Khan, critical care nurse Sandra Lindsay, civil rights activist Diane Nash, soccer star Megan Rapinoe, former U.S. senator Alan Simpson, the late former AFL-CIO leader Richard Trumka, retired general Wilma Vaught, actor Denzel Washington, and former ambassador Raúl Yzaguirre. 

They are the first people to receive the medal since Biden came into office. 

“President Biden has long said that America can be defined by one word: possibilities. These seventeen Americans demonstrate the power of possibilities and embody the soul of the nation – hard work, perseverance, and faith,” the White House said in a statement. “They have overcome significant obstacles to achieve impressive accomplishments in the arts and sciences, dedicated their lives to advocating for the most vulnerable among us, and acted with bravery to drive change in their communities – and across the world – while blazing trails for generations to come.”

The official criterion for the medal is that it is meant “for especially meritorious contribution to (1) the security or national interests of the United States, or (2) world peace, or (3) cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.”

Rapinoe had famously declared that she would not visit the White House under former President Trump if the U.S. women’s national team received an invitation. However, she did appear at the White House early in Biden’s presidency. She got the call from the White House during a lunch with her teammates on the fiftieth anniversary of the passage of Title IX. 

“I am humbled and truly honored to be chosen for this award by President Biden and feel as inspired and motivated as ever to continue this long history of fighting for the freedoms of all people. To quote Emma Lazarus, ‘Until we are all free, we are none of us free,” Rapinoe said, per the U.S. Soccer website. 

Biden received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, in a surprise presentation from President Barack Obama in his final days as vice president in early 2017. 

Stephen Silver, a technology writer for The National Interest, is a journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philly Voice, Philadelphia Weekly, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Living Life Fearless, Backstage magazine, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver.

Image: Reuters.