WASHINGTON — In one of his last official acts as president, Joe Biden awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 19 recipients, including a posthumous award to civil rights icon Fannie Lou Hamer, who died in 1977. The Delta native is the 11th Mississippian to receive the honor since 1964.

President Joe Biden awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Civil Rights icon Fannie Lou Hamer, who is the 11th Mississippi recipient.

While Denzel Washington, Earvin “Magic” Johnson and the late Fannie Lou Hamer may all be legends in their own respective industries, the trio were among the recipients for the same very special honor recently.

The ceremony unfolded in the historic White House East Room, where President Biden reflected on its legacy as the site […]

President Joe Biden awarded the prestigious Presidential Medal of Freedom to 19 remarkable individuals. Among the honorees were civil rights icon Fannie Lou Hamer, actor Denzel Washington, media mogul Oprah Winfrey,

President Biden celebrated 19 recipients, with the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

The White House said the Medal of Freedom recipients have made “exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavors.

President Joe Biden awarded Mississippian Fannie Lou Hamer with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Hamer was a founder of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, challenging the exclusion of Black voices in the political system.

Fannie Lou Hamer, a Mississippi civil rights activist was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom on January 4 alongside 18 others.