President Biden honors Diane Nash with Presidential Medal of Freedom

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - The White House says Diane Nash organized some of the most important civil rights campaigns of the 20th century. Now, she is a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.

President Joe Biden honored Nash and 16 others with the Presidential of Freedom during a Thursday afternoon ceremony.

Biden said Nash showed, “Unmistakable courage and unshakable courage and leadership. Diane Nash gave some of the most important civil rights efforts in American history.”

The White House said it recognized Nash as a founding member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. A group credited with organizing sit-ins and Freedom Rides in the 1960s to protest segregation.

President Biden said, “Her activism echoes the call of freedom around the world today. And yet she is the first to say the medal is shared with hundreds of thousands of patriotic Americans who sacrificed so much for the cause of liberty and justice for all. And by the way, she asked me to make sure to add that because she didn’t want to take all the credit herself.”

On its website, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee calls Nash “one of the most esteemed student leaders and organizers of the time.” The White House also said Nash worked closely with Dr. Martin Luther King and made an impact across several states.

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