Presidential Medal of Freedom

Educator and Activist

b. September 13, 1922
d. May 24, 2002

“Somehow I learned that I belonged with my people and that I had a responsibility to contribute to them.”

Dr. Antonia Pantoja was an educator and activist dedicated to the improvement of Latino communities through education. Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Pantoja spent much of her life living and working in New York City. In 1957, after receiving her master’s degree from Columbia University, she founded the Puerto Rican Forum (originally called the Hispanic American Youth Association, or HAYA), which helped promote economic equality. 

A few years later, Pantoja founded ASPIRA to promote education in the Hispanic community. The organization now operates in eight states and Puerto Rico and serves more than 85,000 students a year. In 1972 ASPIRA filed a successful federal lawsuit demanding that New York City teach transitional Spanish to struggling Latino students. The case represents a landmark in bilingual education in the United States.    

During her career as an educator, Pantoja worked tirelessly to reform the education system in New York City, making it more accessible to immigrants. By 1970 she established Universidad Boricua, now known as Boricua College, with three campuses in New York City. She also helped to create the Graduate School of Community Development at San Diego University. She received the Hispanic Heritage Award from the Hispanic Heritage Foundation and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the New York State Board of Regents.

When President Bill Clinton presented Pantoja with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1996, she became the first Puerto Rican woman to receive the honor. 

In 2002 she came out publicly in her autobiography, “Memoir of a Visionary: Antonia Pantoja.” She died the same year and is survived by her her longtime partner, Dr. Wilhelmina Perry. 

In 2012 Pantoja was inducted into the Legacy Walk, a public display in Chicago that honors LGBT people. She is the subject of “Antonia Pantoja: ¡Presente!,” a documentary film produced and directed by Lillian Jiménez.

Environmental Pioneer

b. May 27, 1907

d. April 14, 1964

“If facts are the seeds that later produce knowledge and wisdom, then the emotions and the impressions of the senses are the fertile soil in which the seeds must grow.”

Rachel Carson was a writer and research biologist credited with establishing the environmental movement. Carson brought public attention to the need to regulate industry and protect the environment.

She was raised in rural Springdale, Pennsylvania, where she and her mother explored woods and springs, and enjoyed bird watching. She claimed her most enduring childhood memory was a desire to become a writer.

In 1929, Carson graduated from the Pennsylvania College for Women (now known as Chatham College) with a degree in zoology. She earned a master’s degree in zoology from Johns Hopkins University in 1932.

Carson is best known for her book “Silent Spring” (1962), a meticulously researched work about the dangers of the indiscriminate use of pesticides. Though the book sparked fierce opposition from the chemical industry, it succeeded at raising public awareness. President Kennedy ordered an investigation. As a result, the pesticide DDT was banned.

While battling cancer, Carson continued her efforts to bring attention to environmental issues. She spoke out on the need for an independent government regulatory agency to monitor environmental degradation and its effects on human health. Her activism led to the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Chatham College established the Rachel Carson Institute to promote “awareness and understanding of significant and current environmental issues.” In 1980, she was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor.

Anthropologist and author 

b. December 16, 1901

d. November 15, 1978

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.”

Margaret Mead was an innovative cultural anthropologist who brought public attention to the field by making her work understandable and relevant. Famous for her trademark cape and walking stick, Mead shaped anthropology with her nontraditional research methods.

Raised in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Mead was the first child of two social scientists. She began building her observational skills when her grandmother asked her to take notes on the behavior of her two younger sisters. She encouraged Mead to notice “emerging differences in temperament between the two girls.”

Mead received a degree in psychology from Barnard College in 1923. She received an M.A. in 1924 and a Ph.D. in 1929 from Columbia University.

Mead rocked the American public and the anthropology world with her first book, “Coming of Age In Samoa” (1928), about the sexual behavior of young Samoan women. This book and her subsequent reports on the sexual attitudes of other cultures influenced the sexual revolution of the 1960's.

She married three times, all to men who were anthropologists. From 1955 until her death, she lived and worked with female anthropologist Rhoda Metraux. Evidence of their romantic relationship can be found in “To Cherish the Life of the World: Selected Letters of Margaret Mead” (2006).

Mead wrote or contributed to more than 30 books, gave hundreds of speeches, and taught at Columbia University and Fordham University. She worked at the American Museum of Natural History, where she was named curator emeritus.

At the age of 72, Mead was elected president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In 1979, she was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor.