Sponsored message
Logged in as
Audience-funded nonprofit news
radio tower icon laist logo
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Subscribe
  • Listen Now Playing Listen
News

Father Greg Boyle Of Homeboy Industries To Receive Presidential Medal Of Honor

A group of 5 people inside a coffee shop. To the far left, a medium dark skinned man wears a white shirt and baseball hat. In front, a medium to light skinned toned woman wears a black shirt. Behind her, a white man with a white shirt stands. To his right, a medium skin tone man wears a hair net, blue apron and white shirt. To the far right, a light skin tone woman wears a white shirt.
Father Greg Boyle will be one of 19 recipients receiving the Presidential Medal of Honor.
(
Courtesy Homeboy Industries
)

One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.

Topline:

President Biden will present the Medal of Freedom on Friday to 19 Americans, the nation's highest civilian honor. Among those recipients is Father Greg Boyle, the founder of Homeboy Industries.

Homeboy Industries is the world's largest gang intervention and rehabilitation program founded almost 40 years ago in Boyle Heights. A statement from the White House notes that Boyle "has helped thousands of Angelenos turn their lives around."

Homeboy Industries released a statement soon after the announcement came this morning:

Father Greg’s ministry through Homeboy Industries exemplifies the transformative power of compassion, forgiveness, and second chances. For nearly forty years, Father Greg has empowered hundreds of thousands of individuals to break free from the cycles of poverty, violence, and incarceration. His unwavering dedication to building bridges across divides and promoting understanding through compassion, kinship and tenderness underscores the importance of empathy and connection in creating a more harmonious society.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony will be hosted at the White House at 1:30 p.m. PT and can be viewed via livestream here.

Go deeper:
Biden is giving the Medal of Freedom to a who's who of Democrats (and Katie Ledecky)

One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.

You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.

If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief

Make your tax-deductible donation today