Seriously, JFK Profiles in Courage Awards????
History and Purpose
The John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award® was created in 1989 by members of President Kennedy’s family to honor President John F. Kennedy and to recognize and celebrate the quality of political courage that he admired most.
The award recognizes a public official (or officials) at the federal, state, or local level whose actions demonstrate the qualities of politically courageous leadership in the spirit of Profiles in Courage, President Kennedy’s 1957 Pulitzer prize-winning book, which recounts the stories of eight U.S. Senators who risked their careers by embracing unpopular positions for the greater good.
The award is presented each May at a ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in connection with the observance of President Kennedy’s birthday on May 29.
2021. Background for the Award
The 2021 Profile in Courage Award goes to Senator Mitt Romney for his vote to convict President Donald J. Trump in 2020, and his consistent and courageous defense of democracy. As the first Senator to have ever voted to convict a President of his own party, Senator Romney’s courageous stand was historic.
During a time of grave threat to U.S. democratic institutions, Mitt Romney has been a consistent but often solitary Republican voice in defense of democracy and the rule of law. In February 2020, after weighing evidence that then-President Donald Trump withheld Congressionally authorized military aid for political gain, Romney voted to convict Trump for abuse of power. As the first Senator to have ever voted to convict a President of his own party, Romney’s courageous stand was historic. He characterized his vote to convict as “the most difficult decision I have ever faced,” and acknowledged that he would suffer significant political consequences. Nevertheless, Romney said he could not “disregard what I believe my oath and the Constitution demands of me for the sake of a partisan end.”
Despite facing unrelenting criticism and public antagonism following this vote, along with threats to his physical safety and demands that he be censured or expelled from the Republican party, Romney has continued to courageously defend the fundamental principles of democratic governance.
In a virtual ceremony on May 26, 2021, the JFK Library Foundation gave the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award to U.S. Senator Mitt Romney for his vote to convict President Donald J. Trump in 2020 in the Presidential Impeachment trial. The Foundation also honored seven frontline workers for showing courage in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic
The 2019 Profile in Courage Award goes to Speaker Nancy Pelosi for putting the national interest above her party’s interest to expand access to health care for all Americans and then, against a wave of political attacks, leading the effort to retake the majority and elect the most diverse Congress in our nation’s history. More
In 2010, amid a public climate of deepening polarization, Pelosi tirelessly spearheaded the passage of the Affordable Care Act. The ACA has subsequently enabled millions of Americans to have access to quality, affordable health care, and improved benefits for tens of millions more; it was the most significant expansion of health care access since the implementation of Medicare and Medicaid nearly half a century before. Following its passage, Pelosi became the subject of negative political attacks from the GOP. Democrats lost control of the House in November 2010, ending her first tenure as House Speaker.
Despite facing opposition, Pelosi Illustrated her persistence and determination, as she set out to rebuild the Democratic Party in the image of America. In 2018, she led Democrats in electing the most diverse Congress in U.S. history – more people of color, more LGBT Americans, and a record setting 35 new Democratic women – including the first native American women and Muslim American women. With Democrats back in the majority, Pelosi elevated a new generation of leaders to leadership positions and skillfully united her party focusing on shared values, policy priorities, and a commitment to governing for the greater good. On January 3, 2019, Pelosi was once again elected Speaker of the House, becoming the first speaker in more than 60 years to win nonconsecutive terms.
2017. From his inspirational 2008 campaign until his final weeks in office, Barack H. Obama consistently reflected in so many ways, big and small, the definition of courage that John F. Kennedy cited in the opening lines of Profiles in Courage: “Grace under pressure.” He picked up the torch from President Kennedy and has now passed it on to a new generation of Americans, inspiring young people across the country to enter public service, affirming our belief in an America that is more than a collection of Red states and Blue states, and reminding all of us that no matter what we look like, where we come from, or what faith we practice, we are our brother’s and sister’s keeper.
Throughout his two terms in office, President Obama upheld the highest standards of dignity, decency and integrity, serving not just as a political leader, but a moral leader, offering hope and healing to the country and providing young men and women of all backgrounds with an example they can emulate in their own lives.
President Obama’s entire public life has exemplified the courage that John F. Kennedy celebrated.
2013
Gabrielle Giffords was elected to Arizona’s 8th Congressional District seat in 2006, after more than five years of service in the Arizona House of Representatives and State Senate. In Congress, she quickly became a leading policymaker on border security, energy independence, and support for military families and veterans. In 2010, she was the target of death threats and her office was vandalized following her vote in favor of health care reform.
On January 8, 2011, Giffords and eighteen others were shot during a constituent meeting she was holding in a supermarket parking lot in Casas Adobes, Arizona, in the Tucson metropolitan area. Six people died, including Arizona District Court Chief Judge John Roll; Gabe Zimmerman, one of Rep. Giffords’ staffers; and a nine-year-old girl, Christina-Taylor Green. Giffords was holding the meeting, called “Congress on Your Corner” in the parking lot of a Safeway store when Jared Lee Loughner drew a pistol and shot her in the head at point-blank range before proceeding to fire on other people. After a year of rehabilitation, she resigned from Congress in order to focus on her recovery. On the second anniversary of the shooting, Giffords and her husband, retired Navy Captain and astronaut Mark Kelly, launched Americans for Responsible Solutions to encourage elected officials to support measures to prevent gun violence and promote responsible gun ownership.
The JFK we remember
For the rest visit https://www.jfklibrary.org/events-and-awards/profile-in-courage-award/award-recipients/gabrielle-giffords-2013