The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation today announced that Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is its 2016 recipient of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for his stance on admitting Syrian refugees to Connecticut.
The center cited Malloy because, amid security concerns following the Nov. 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris, he defended the U.S. resettlement of Syrian refugees and personally welcomed a family of Syrian refugees to New Haven after they had been turned away by the governor of Indiana.
Jack Schlossberg, President Kennedy’s grandson, said in a statement, “As half of U.S. governors, leading presidential candidates and countless others across the country voice support for a ban on Syrian refugees from entering the United States, Governor Dannel Malloy took a stand against the hateful, xenophobic rhetoric.”
According to the award website, ordinarily, the award will be made to living Americans who are or were elected officials. Individuals at all levels of government—federal, state and local—are eligible for the award. An emphasis is be placed on contemporary acts of political courage. Past winners include former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords; former president George H.W. Bush; and, Leymah Gbowee, who brought together several dozen women to pray for peace in Liberia.
The award for political courage will be presented by Schlossberg at a ceremony in Boston on May 1, 2016.
