Since 1989, the Kennedy family has given out Profile in Courage Awards for protecting democracy. Named for John F. Kennedy's Pulitzer Prize-winning book, the honor is awarded annually to "a public official (or officials) at the federal, state, or local level whose actions demonstrate the qualities of politically courageous leadership."
Jack Schlossberg, Kennedy's grandson, announced on the Today show the 2022 recipients of the award, under the theme "Defending Democracy." For the first time in the award's history, five individuals will be honored: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Wyoming's congresswoman Liz Cheney, Michigan's Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, Arizona's House Speaker Russell "Rusty" Bowers, and Fulton County elections worker Wandrea "Shaye" Moss.
Schlossberg told Savannah Guthrie, "I think the issue of [defending democracy] is so important this year, which is why we chose five winners, not just one." There are Democrats and Republicans on the list, all of whom who "put country before party" to defend democracy.
In addition to Zelensky, the four American nominees all played a part in standing by the results of the 2020 election. As the profiles on the John F. Kennedy Library detail, Cheney "broke with most in her party, urged fidelity to the Constitution, and stood her ground with honor and conviction," voting to impeach President Trump; Benson "refused to back down from fulfilling the duties of her office, even as threats and harassment from then-President Trump and his allies grew increasingly aggressive"; Bowers, a pro-Trump Republican, "resisted intense pressure from Trump and Rudy Giuliani and refused to go along with an illegal scheme to replace Arizona’s legal slate of electors with a false slate of electors who would elect Trump"; and Moss, despite being targeted by Trump and his followers with death threats, continues to work in Georgia's Fulton County Department of Elections, "doing the hard and unseen work to run our democracy."
When Guthrie asked Schlossberg what his grandfather John F. Kennedy would think of politics in 2020, he replied, "It's always been tough, but I think he would be very optimistic, as I am today. People tried to overturn the election in 2020, but they weren't successful. People are attacking democracy all the time, but there are people with integrity, like these winners, who are standing up and defending democracy."
"Democracy is under attack," Schlossberg emphasized, "and there's no issue that's more important." Watch the full announcement here:
"Today’s honorees put their careers and lives on the line to protect democratic principles and the integrity of our elections. Their service and courage inspire us all,” Caroline Kennedy, the honorary president of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, said in a statement.
The five winners will be honored at a ceremony at the Kennedy Library in Boston later this year; no date has been announced yet.
Emily Burack (she/her) is the Senior News Editor for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, culture, the royals, and a range of other subjects. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma, a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Twitter and Instagram.
