PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — An audience of hundreds gathered at the National Constitution Center in Old City on Friday as Judy Woodruff and David Rubenstein each received the prestigious Liberty Medal.
Each year, the Constitution Center's Liberty Medal honors those devoted to the pursuit of freedom for others.
"For me, it is as meaningful as anything I can think of because it comes at a moment in our country when our democracy is under a great deal of threat and a time when America is frankly questioning some of its very foundational principles," said journalist Woodruff, who serves as senior correspondent for PBS NewsHour.
"So I can't think of a more important time than right now to rededicate ourselves to the Constitution," she continued, "and I was thrilled to have the opportunity to talk about the role of the press in doing that, because I think without a free and strong press, we cannot have a strong democracy."
Philanthropist Rubenstein was also honored for his efforts to restore national monuments, as well as preserve rare documents. National Constitution Center President Jeffrey Rosen says both recipients have done "patriotic work convening Americans of different perspectives" to explore what unites and divides citizens.
"America's more polarized today than we've been since the Civil War. It's an extremely divided time. We know there are grave threats to democracy in America and around the world. That's what makes it so urgently important to think back on our founding principles," Rosen said.
"Try to imagine what the founders anticipated, what they couldn't have anticipated and try to achieve the more perfect union that they insisted was the purpose of the constitution and the declaration."
Past Liberty Medal recipients include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, civil rights leader and U.S. Rep. John Lewis, boxing legend and activist Muhammad Ali, and award-winning filmmaker Steven Spielberg.
