Brooklyn She-roes: Shirley Chisholm, Barbara Streisand Named as 2015 Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients

On Monday, President Barack Obama named seventeen recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, our nation’s highest award to civilians.

Two of the recipients this year hail from Brooklyn: Shirley Chisholm (now deceased), who made history in 1968 by becoming the first African-American woman elected to Congress; and Barbra Streisand, famed singer, actor, director, producer and songwriter.

In a statement on Monday, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams said, “The Presidential Medal of Freedom is our nation’s highest civilian honor, and I share the honor that all Brooklynites feel in the news that President Obama has named former Representative Shirley Chisholm and entertainment legend Barbara Streisand, both native daughters of Brooklyn, as two of the latest recipients."

Adams added, "The award has a storied history in our borough, with previous awardees including Dr. Anthony Fauci, General Peter Pace, baseball legend Jackie Robinson, and Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. Chisholm and Streisand are true she-roes that embody the never-say-die Brooklyn spirit, and the trails they blazed generations ago still burn brightly today.”

The awards will be presented at the White House on November 24th. More on this year's winners here.

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Photo credits: 
"Shirley Chisholm NYWTS" by Roger Higgins, World Telegram staff photographer - Library of Congress. New York World-Telegram & Sun Collection. Licensed under Public Domain via Commons

"Streisand - Dolly signed" by Movie studio - RR Auction. Licensed under Public Domain via Commons  

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