President Barack Obama awarded the nation’s highest civilian honor to 16 "agents of change" Wednesday, highlighting their accomplishments as examples of the heights a person can reach and the difference one can make in the lives of others.

Among the honorees was Nancy Brinker, who created Susan G. Komen for the Cure after her sister died of breast cancer in 1980 and raises money for research and other services through events like the Race for the Cure.

"What unites them is a belief . . . that our lives are what we make of them, that no barriers of race, gender or physical infirmity can restrain the human spirit, and that the truest test of a person’s life is what we do for one another," Obama said at a ceremony in the East Room of the White House, overflowing with guests as well as White House aides who went to glimpse the celebrities in their midst.

Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who is a member of Fort Worth’s Cowgirl Hall of Fame, film star Sidney Poitier, retired Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, civil rights icon the Rev. Joseph Lowery and tennis legend Billie Jean King were also among the recipients of the Medal of Freedom.

Another recipient, Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., was at home with brain cancer and mourning the death Tuesday of his sister, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, and did not attend the ceremony. His daughter, Kara, accepted the award for him.

Obama gave posthumous honors to former Republican Rep. Jack Kemp of New York, the quarterback-turned-politician who died in May, and gay-rights activist Harvey Milk, who was assassinated in 1978.

The other recipients were:

Dr. Pedro Jose Greer Jr., assistant dean of academic affairs for the Florida International University School of Medicine and founder of the Camillus Health Concern, which treats thousands of homeless patients annually.

Stephen Hawking, the Cambridge University physicist and mathematician known for his work on black holes. He has been almost com- pletely paralyzed for years and communicates through an electronic voice synthesizer.

Joe Medicine Crow, the last living Plains Indian war chief, who fought in World War II wearing war paint beneath his uniform.

Chita Rivera, actor, singer and dancer.

Mary Robinson, Ireland’s first female president and one-time U.N. high commissioner for human rights.

Dr. Janet Davison Rowley, professor of medicine at the University of Chicago.

Muhammad Yunus, the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize laureate for his global pioneering work extending "micro loans" to poor people who don’t have collateral.

President Harry S. Truman established the Medal of Freedom in 1945 to recognize civilians for their efforts during World War II. President John F. Kennedy reinstated the medal in 1963 to honor distinguished service.

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