{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://clyburn.house.gov/press-release/clyburn-congratulates-charlie-sifford-and-other-medal-freedom-recipients", "Clyburn Congratulates Charlie Sifford and Other Medal of Freedom Recipients", "2014-11-13", "2014", "2014-11", "Democrat", "House", "SC", "James Clyburn", "C000537", "clyburn.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON -- Assistant Democratic Leader James E. Clyburn released the following statement after President Barack Obama named 19 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which will be awarded at a ceremony at the White House\u00a0on November 24:\n\u201cI congratulate all of this year\u2019s recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. \u00a0I am especially pleased with the President\u2019s decision to award a medal to professional golfer Charlie Sifford, the first African American player on the PGA Tour.\u00a0 Last July, I organized a bipartisan letter with 64 signatures encouraging the President to consider Mr. Sifford for this honor.\u00a0 Referring to Mr. Sifford as \u2018the Jackie Robinson of golf,\u2019 we wrote:\nThe courage of Charlie Sifford opened the gates of golf to people of color across the world.\u00a0 While no award can restore the right of an athlete to compete that was unjustly denied decades ago, bestowing a Presidential Medal of Freedom upon him would rightly remember this injustice and extol the attributes of determination and persistence that enabled him to ultimately prevail.\n\u201cIt is fitting that Mr. Sifford is being recognized alongside such luminaries as John Dingell and the late Patsy Takemoto Mink, whom I have had the privilege of serving with in Congress; Steve Wonder, who has used his immense musical talent to promote civil rights; and James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner, who gave their lives, during the \u201cturbulent sixties,\u201d fighting for the rights of all Americans to participate in our democracy. \u00a0I thank each of them and all of the recipients for their remarkable contributions to our pursuit of \u2018a more perfect Union.\u2019\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://clyburn.house.gov/press-release/clyburn-congratulates-charlie-sifford-and-other-medal-freedom-recipients"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 3.0290400609374046, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}