Politics. On Point.

 "This Is America." Seventeen Americans were honored Thursday at the White House with Medals of Freedom. The honorees included civil rights attorney Fred Gray , women's U.S. soccer player and World Cup winner  Megan Rapinoe (who declined the previous administration's offer to visit the White House), Steve Jobs and John McCain (both posthumously), and Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles . It’s a huge honor; I’m excited to be here”, said Biles. “I put in so many years of hard work and being recognized by the president is so special”, Biles said to reporters after the ceremony. A preschool teacher, awe struck after seeing Biles and fiance Jonathan Owens as she was leaving the White House, couldn’t believe her eyes. She told us that Biles is an inspiration for all girls, from pre-K to twelfth grade. “I watch her every time they’re in the Olympics”, she said. The main draw on the afternoon (perhaps), actor and producer Denzel Washington , was absent from the cer...

President Obama's press conference Wednesday to talk about the historic nuclear weapon  deal with Iran was overshadowed when a reporter asked  whether Bill Cosby's Medal of Freedom award should be revoked amid the actor  admitting he drugged women to have sex with him. President Obama responds to Bill Cosby drugs-for-sex admission. Photo/CD Brown The president replied saying, "there is no mechanism" for such a thing, and went on to say that giving a woman (or a man, for that matter) drugs without their knowledge and then have sex with that person without consent, is rape.  (Former Cosby Show star agrees ). From the White House transcript... And with respect to the Medal of Freedom, there’s no precedent for revoking a medal.  We don’t have that mechanism.  And as you know, I tend to make it a policy not to comment on the specifics of cases where there might still be, if not criminal, then civil issues involved. ...

Hall of Fame baseball legend Ernie Banks passed last Friday. We are remembering the special time that he gave to us in 2013 after accepting his prestigious Medal of Freedom award from President Obama. Mr. Ernie Banks, (a.k.a. Mr. Cub) during the 2013 Medal of Freedom award ceremony.  Photo/CD Brown. The famed major league baseball player (1953-1971) chatted lightheartedly with many of us in the media that day, even going as far as saying hello to my three grandchildren via video.  Also remembered, perhaps, was a favorite from one of his quotes when he sounded so grateful just...to be. "This is a great world", he said. "It really is. I'm just happy to be here, in Washington." Mr. Banks died of an apparent heart attack, leaving behind a wife, his storied Chicago Cubs baseball legacy, and the thoughts of kindness and humility to those meeting him for the very first time; reminding us all to "just be nice to people." Audio: CD Brown for Poli...

The White House announced the 2014 Medal of Freedom award recipients that include the likes of legendary dancer and founder of the Dance Theater of Harlem, Alvin Ailey, American music composer, song writer Stevie Wonder; actress and Academy Award winner Meryll Streep, and news anchor Tom Brokaw. The nominees will be honored at the White House on November 24th. Other nominees include author  Isabel Allende,    James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner , golf legend and pioneer , Mr. Charles Sifford ;  physicists and scientist  Mildred Dresselhaus , Congressman John Dingell, human rights advocate Ethel Kennedy ; writer and activist Suzan Harjo ,  Abner Mikva, congresswoman  Patsy Takemoto Mink  (R-Hawaii) ; Mexican-born House of Representative and Congressional Hispanic Caucus founder  Edward Roybal   (posthumous);   economist   Robert Solow;   theatre composer Stephen Sondheim ;  award-winning actress, p...

The First Family remarks on the passing of American novelist and poet, Dr. Maya Angelou today.  In his remarks President Obama writes: When her friend Nelson Mandela passed away last year, Maya Angelou wrote that “No sun outlasts its sunset, but will rise again, and bring the dawn.” Today, Michelle and I join millions around the world in remembering one of the brightest lights of our time – a brilliant writer, a fierce friend, and a truly phenomenal woman . Over the course of her remarkable life, Maya was many things – an author, poet, civil rights activist, playwright, actress, director, composer, singer and dancer. But above all, she was a storyteller – and her greatest stories were true. A childhood of suffering and abuse actually drove her to stop speaking – but the voice she found helped generations of Americans find their rainbow amidst the clouds, and inspired the rest of us to be our best selves. In fact, she inspired my own mother to name my sister Maya. Like so m...

This year's group of the Presidential Medal of Free Awards read like a Who's Who of sports, entertainment, music, medicine, and media. Sixteen individuals, each accomplished in their own right, took the stage with President Obama as he read each name out loud, highlighting their incredible journeys that got them to their life stations. Oprah Winfrey , former president Bill Clinton , Arturo Sandoval , Ernie Banks , Gloria Steinem , country music singer, Loretta Lynn , and others, rounded out this group of talented individuals. The president joked about how he and Oprah's names, at first, weren't accepted as 'status quo' by those less understanding of people's differences. "She was told she should change her name to Susie", he said recalling the time early in her journalism career where her employer also told her she was "too funny looking" for TV. (We're sure he's eaten crow several times over). In a world where accepta...

On Wednesday, November 20 , President Barack Obama will award the Presidential Medal of Freedom.  The Medal of Freedom is the Nation’s highest civilian honor, presented to individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.  Recipients include Ernie Banks, Bayard Rustin, Oprah Winfrey.                                                                                             ...

2013 Marks 50th Anniversary of President Kennedy’s Establishment of the Presidential Medal of Freedom A nice , and notable, group of Americans are slated to receive the 2013 Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the Nation’s highest civilian honor, presented to individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors. The awards will be presented at the White House later this year. This year marks the 50th Anniversary of the Executive Order signed by President John F. Kennedy establishing the Presidential Medal of Freedom, as well as the first ceremony bestowing the honor on an inaugural class of 31 recipients.  Since that time, more than 500 exceptional individuals from all corners of society have been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freed...

A big day yesterday for America's leading contributors as novelist Toni Morrison , (born Chloe Ardelia Wofford); singer/songwriter Bob Dylan , former astronaut John Glenn , and others received the Medal of Freedom award from President Barack Obama yesterday in a very well packed East Room of the White House. Joining them were Madaleine Albright , John Doar , Judge John Paul Stevens , and NCAA women's basketball coach for the University of Tennessee, Pat Summit .  Novelist extraordinaire Toni Morrison shares a smile with President Obama.  Photo/CD Brown. "And I have to say, just looking around the room, this is a packed house, which is a testament to how cool this group is. Everybody wanted to check them out." Of the accolades given by Mr. Obama to the recipients, he credited one recipient for 'making it possible' for him to become president. Of civil rights worker and assistant attorney general, John Doar, the president...

You have to wonder why this event couldn't have taken place when the current President of the United States, Barack Obama, was able to attend. After all, the event boasted all of the living presidents (Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, and the two Bush presidents), except Barack Obama. Couldn't the event, or the President's travel plans to South America, have been better scheduled so that all of the Presidents - past and present - could be in the same company honoring George H.W. Bush at the same time? One one hand, it looks like your friends threw a party, but they didn't even bother to invite you. Honoree George H.W. Bush and wife Barbara are surrounded by former Presidents Bill Clinton, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, and George W. and Laura Bush, plus Kennedy Center board chair David and Alice Rubenstein. On the other hand, one could make the case that on the day George H.W. Bush was honored by President Barack Obama at the White House with a Medal of F...

Recipients Include A Congressman and Former U.S. President Fifteen iconic Americans received the prestigious Medal of Freedom award today from President Barack Obama in a ceremony in the East Room of the White House.  President Obama holds a Medal of Freedom award.  One of 15 awarded in a ceremony in the East Room of the White House.  Photo/CD Brown. Among those awarded:  The Boston Celtics' NBA great Bill Russell; Stan Musial, baseball legend and Hall of Fame first baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals; Congressman John Lewis , American hero and giant of the Civil Rights Movement; Warren Buffett, investor, industrialist, and philanthropist; Dr. Maya Angelou , author, poet, educator, producer, actress, filmmaker, and civil rights activist; cellist Yo-Yo Ma , Dr. Tom Little (Posthumous); Gerda Weismann Klein , Jewish Holocaust survivor;  artist Jasper Johns ; John H. Adams co-founder of the Natural Resources Defense Council;   Chancellor ...

George Herbert Walker Bush is one of fifteen award recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom award. The Medal of Freedom is the Nation’s highest civilian honor, presented to individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors. Bush was the 41st President of the United States. Prior to that, he was Vice President in the Reagan Administration, Director of Central Intelligence, Chief of the U.S. Liaison’s Office to the People’s Republic of China, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, and a Member of the House of Representatives from the 7th District of Texas. He served in the Navy during World War II. President Bush and President Clinton worked together to encourage aid for victims of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004. Other named recipients include Boston Celtics' Bill Russell , Congressman ...

Funeral services for Dr. Dorothy Irene Height , the nation's prominent civil rights advocate, counselor to U.S. presidents, and founder of the Black Family Reunion, held annually in the Nation's Capital, will be laid to rest on Thursday April 29, 2010. Dr. Height, known for donning elegant hats, was a tireless advocate for civil rights, and the advancement of women. She was president emerita of the National Council of Negro Women ( NCNW ), the organization that leads, develops, and advocates for women of African descent as they support their families and communities. Dr. Height was awarded America's two highest civilian awards, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1994 by the President Bill Clinton. She was also awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 2004 through an act of Congress. Dr. Height's annual Uncommon Height Awards that celebrates the achievements of Dr. Height will be scheduled this October in her honor. Last year's event recognized Oprah Winfrey fo...