Obama to honor Isabel Allende and Edward Roybal with Medal of Freedom

U.S. President Barack Obama is to award the country’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, to ChileanAmerican writer Isabel Allende and, posthumously, to the late MexicanAmerican Congressman Edward Roybal, among 17 others including actress Meryl Streep and singer Stevie Wonder.

The honorees will be presented with the medal on Nov. 24, the White House said in a press release on Monday.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is given to those people who have worked for world peace, prosperity of the United States and other significant public or private achievements in the cultural sector.

“I look forward to presenting these nineteen bold, inspiring Americans with our nation’s highest civilian honor,” Obama said.

“From activists who fought for change, to artists who explored the furthest reaches of our imagination; from scientists who kept America on the cutting edge, to public servants who help write new chapters in our American story, these citizens have made extraordinary contributions to our country and the world,” the president added.

In its announcement the White House described Allende as a highly acclaimed author of 21 books that have sold 65 million copies in 35 languages, and also emphasized her several national and international awards.

Roybal was the first MexicanAmerican to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from California in nearly a century.

In 1976, he founded the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, creating a national forum for Latino issues and opening doors for a new generation of Latino leaders.

The recipients list also includes murdered civil rights activists James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, and dancerchoreographer Alvin Ailey, all of them posthumous; engineer Mildred Dresselhaus, congressman John Dingell and human rights advocate Ethel Kennedy.

Journalist Tom Brokaw; writer and activist for the rights of native Americans Suzan Harjo; Congresspeople Abner Mikva and Patsy Takemoto Mink; golfer Charles Sifford; economist Robert Solow; theatre composer Stephen Sondheim and actress Marlo Thomas were others honored with the Medal of Freedom.