Home >  Nation & World >  U.S. News

Friday, July 05, 2002

By Maryclaire Dale, The Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA -- U.S. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell was awarded the 2002 Philadelphia Liberty Medal yesterday for his leadership in the war on terrorism, his efforts in the Middle East and his concern for human rights.

	Past recipients Recipients of the Philadelphia Liberty Medal, which was first awarded in 1989. 1989, Polish President Lech Walesa. 1990, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. 1991, Nobel laureate and former Costa Rican President Oscar Arias and the French medical and human rights organization Medicins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders). 1992, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. 1993, South Africa leaders F.W. de Klerk and Nelson Mandela. 1994, Czech President Vaclav Havel. 1995, Sadako Ogata, U.N. high commissioner for refugees. 1996, former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres and Jordan's King Hussein. 1997, CNN International. 1998, former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell, chairman of the 1998 Northern Ireland peace talks. 1999, South Korean President Kim Dae-jung. 2000, scientists James D. Watson and Francis H.C. Crick. 2001, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan. 2002, U.S. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell. -- The Associated Press

Powell said the ceremony at Independence Hall was evidence the nation's spirit hadn't been broken by last year's terrorist attacks.

"The terrorists thought that they could keep us from celebrating the Fourth of July. They were wrong. We are here, and we will remain," Powell said.

Powell, 65, rose from humble beginnings in Harlem, the child of Jamaican immigrants, to become the nation's first black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1989. He directed Operation Desert Storm in the Persian Gulf in 1991.

Philadelphia Mayor John F. Street called Powell "a warrior for peace, a warrior for justice," and said his leadership after the Sept. 11 attacks has made "a profound difference" in the lives of all Americans.

"Colin Powell is driven by a conviction that the world must be cleansed of hatred and restored to dignity," Street said.

After the medal ceremony, Powell spoke briefly at a luncheon for civic and business leaders before returning to Washington, where he and his wife, Alma, planned to host 300 foreign diplomats and their families at the State Department.

"We're going to give them an old-fashioned Fourth of July picnic," Powell said.

After his retirement from the military, Powell chaired America's Promise, a nonprofit group that encourages volunteerism on behalf of children. His 1995 autobiography, "My American Journey," became a bestseller.

He was sworn in as Secretary of State on Jan. 20, 2001.

Martin Meyerson, a past president of the University of Pennsylvania who chaired the selection committee, called Powell a giant in the cause of protecting human liberties, and a key leader in the war on terrorism, Middle East peacekeeping efforts and the transformation of Afghanistan.

"No one is held in greater esteem in America, and there could not be a more fitting individual to receive this year's Liberty Medal in America's birthplace on America's birthday," Meyerson said.

Last year's medal went to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

The Liberty Medal was established in 1988 to honor individuals or organizations whose actions represent the founding principles of the United States. Past recipients include former President Jimmy Carter, former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres, the late King Hussein of Jordan and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.

The Liberty Medal is administered by Greater Philadelphia First, a regional business and civic organization, and comes with a $100,000 prize.

Powell plans to give the award money to the Maud and Luther Powell America's Promise Scholarship, an education fund he established in his parents' names.

Powell said he was accepting the medal not for the service he has already given the country, but for the years of service he feels he still owes. He asked all Americans to devote more time to public service and charitable work.

"Everybody can make the time to serve on a school board, volunteer at a local shelter, mentor a kid who needs someone to care," he said.

Powell was educated in the New York City public schools, graduating from the City College of New York, where he took part in ROTC, and afterward began his Army career.

He has also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Purple Heart.

The Powells have three adult children.