by Derrick Scott
[WASHINGTON, DC] – The White House has announced Sandra Lindsay is among seventeen Americans named by President Biden to be recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Sandra Lindsay is a Jamaican American critical care nurse in New York, who served on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic response. She was the first American to receive a COVID-19 vaccine outside of clinical trials. Sandra is a prominent advocate for vaccines and mental health for health care workers.
Lindsay will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Nation’s highest civilian honor. This honor is presented to individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States. Including world peace, or other significant societal, public, or private endeavors.
The awards will be presented at the White House on July 7, 2022.
Power of Possibilities
In making the announcement, President Biden 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.
They have overcome significant obstacles to achieve impressive accomplishments in the arts and sciences. Plus, dedicating their lives to advocating for the most vulnerable among us. They have acted with bravery to drive change in their communities – and across the world. All while blazing trails for generations to come.
Making Jamaica Proud
In reaction to the announcement from the White House, Jamaica’s Ambassador to the United States, Her Excellency Audrey Marks, who has been invited to the ceremony, congratulated Sandra Lindsay on behalf of the Government and people of Jamaica as a member of the Diaspora who continues to make Jamaica proud.
She pointed out that the Medal of Freedom was a most prestigious award. In addition, being chosen to receive it was an indication of her outstanding contribution to her adopted homeland. Plus, the critical role she played in motivating Americans to take the COVID-19 vaccine in the battle against the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.
According to Marks, “to be numbered among the other individuals who will be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom was no mean feat.” “This is an indication of the high esteem with which she has been held by the Biden-Harris administration.”
2022 Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients
Among the other recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom are:
- Simone Biles – the most decorated American gymnast in history;
- Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Gifford – the youngest woman ever elected to the Arizona State Senate, serving first in Arizona legislature and A survivor of gun violence, who co-founded Giffords, a nonprofit organization dedicated to gun violence prevention;
- Fred Gray – one of the first black members of the Alabama State legislature since Reconstruction who represented Rosa Parks, the NAACP, and who Martin Luther King called “the chief counsel for the protest movement;”
- Steve Jobs (posthumous) Steve Jobs (d. 2011) the co-founder, chief executive, and chair of Apple, Inc., CEO of Pixar and a former lead investor at the Walt Disney Company;
- John McCain (posthumous) who served the people of Arizona for decades in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate and the Republican nominee for president in 2008;
- Denzel Washington – actor, director, and producer who has won two Academy Awards, a Tony Award, two Golden Globes; plus, the 2016 Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award
