Former President Barack Obama has been named the 2017 winner of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award.
The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation announced Thursday that Obama was honored “for his enduring commitment to democratic ideals and elevating the standard of political courage in a new century.”
Kennedy’s daughter, Caroline Kennedy, and her son, Jack Schlossberg, will present Obama with the award on May 7 in Boston.
Caroline Kennedy says Obama carried her father’s torch, “providing young people of all backgrounds with an example they can emulate in their own lives.”
The award is presented annually to public servants who have made courageous decisions of conscience without regard for the personal or professional consequences. It is named for Kennedy’s 1957 Pulitzer Prize-winning book, “Profiles in Courage.”