http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/260312-obama-to-honor-spielberg-streisand-and-moreNovember 16, 2015, 05:03 pm
Spielberg, Streisand to get Medal of Freedom
By Mark Hensch
President Obama announced Monday the recipients of this year’s Presidential Medal of Freedom, including the celebrities Steven Spielberg and Barbra Streisand.
“I look forward to presenting these 17 distinguished Americans with our nation’s highest civilian honor,” Obama said in a statement revealing the award’s winners for 2015.
Musical power couple Emilio and Gloria Estefan is also receiving the rare honor for their respective recording careers. The Estefans recorded an anthem deriding GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump last September.
The tune — “We’re all Mexican” — rallied Hispanic musicians infuriated by Trump’s criticism of illegal immigrants and Mexico.
Professional baseball stars Willie Mays and the late Yogi Berra, meanwhile, are two of this year’s notable sports recipients.
“From public servants who helped us meet defining challenges of our time to artists who expanded our imaginations, from leaders who have made our union more perfect to athletes who have inspired millions of fans, these men and women have enriched our lives and helped define our shared experience as Americans,” the president said.
Spielberg’s selection follows a string of classic blockbusters from the director including “Jaws,” “Jurassic Park” and the “Indiana Jones" series. He is a three-time Academy Award winner whose movies have grossed over $8.5 billion worldwide.
Streisand, meanwhile, is one of the few living entertainers who have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony award. The musical actress also boasts the National Medal of Arts and Kennedy Center Honors among her achievements.
Mays spent over two decades as a center fielder for the New York and San Francisco Giants, ending his career with 660 home runs.
“The Say Hey Kid” remains fifth on the career home runs list despite retiring in 1973.
Berra, for his part, is receiving his award posthumously after his death in late September. The former New York Yankees star was renowned for his skills on the field and his many quotable sayings off of it.
Obama added Monday that retiring Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), Native American activist Billy Frank, Jr., and theatrical composer Stephen Sondheim are among 2015’s other honorees.
Obama will bestow the awards during a White House ceremony on Nov. 24.
