"Until every child has the opportunity to live up to his or her God-given potential, free from want in a world at peace, Dr. King's work and our work is not yet done," Clinton said at the ceremony, which awarded the Medal to 15 recipients.
"All of our honorees have helped America to widen the circle of democracy by fighting for human rights, by righting social wrongs, by empowering others to achieve, by preserving our precious environment, by extending peace around the world," the President said.
The recipients who distinguished themselves in civil rights are:
Arnold Aronson. A civil rights leader for more than 50 years, Aronson co-founded and led the Leadership Conference on Civil rights; coordinated lobbying campaigns to pass the landmark civil rights legislation of the 1950s and 1960s, and joined Dr. King as one of the 10 leaders of the 1963 March on Washington.
James Farmer. One of the United States' most influential civil rights leaders, Farmer formed the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) in 1942, which became a catalyst for the civil rights movement. As director of CORE, he introduced nonviolent resistance against segregation and discrimination through activities including sit-ins and Freedom Rides. He is a professor at Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, VA.
Fred Korematsu. Korematsu's legal challenges to civilian exclusion orders during World War II serve as the underpinning of the redress movement for Japanese-Americans. In 1942, he was arrested and convicted for violating the Government's exclusion orders and sent to an internment camp. He appealed his conviction to the Supreme Court, which upheld the appeal in 1944. In 1983, a Federal District Court found that the Government's exclusion and detention actions during the war were legally unsupportable, and that the Government's defense of those actions was based on fraud and misconduct.
Wilma Mankiller. Rising out of poverty and great personal hardship, Mankiller was appointed principal chief of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma in 1985. In 1987, she became the first elected female leader of a major Indian tribe and was re-elected twice. Known for being an effective leader, she has worked to reduce Cherokee infant mortality, improve health and educational systems, and promote Cherokee business interests.
Mario G. Obledo. As co-founder of the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund and the National Hispanic Bar Association, he has been at the forefront of the struggle to ensure the civil rights of America's Hispanic citizens. He served as chairman of the National Rainbow Coalition from 1988 to 1993. He has served as California's Secretary of Health and Welfare and Assistant Attorney General of Texas.