Google Doodle Honors Sally Ride

CALIFORNIA: State Seeks To Place Statue Of Sally Ride In US Capitol Building

Via the New York Times:

If California legislators succeed, a statue of Sally Ride, astronaut, physicist and educator, will be enshrined in the nation’s Capitol. But first they will have to remove an impediment: the statue of the Rev. Junipero Serra, an 18th-century Catholic priest who established California missions and is about to be canonized by Pope Francis. In the Capitol’s National Statuary Hall Collection, there is not room for both. Since 1864, Congress has invited every state to install two statues. In 2000, a new law allowed states to swap an old sculpture for a new one, which is how California dispensed with Thomas Starr King, a minister and politician, for Ronald Reagan.

A likeness of Dr. Ride in her NASA flight suit could join other notable Americans, including George Washington, Barry Goldwater, Will Rogers, Robert E. Lee, Brigham Young, Helen Keller and Dwight D. Eisenhower. Dr. Ride would be the first acknowledged gay person honored with a statue in the collection. There is bipartisan support for replacing the statue of Father Serra — which has been on display in the Capitol since 1931 — with one depicting the first American woman in space. The statue of Reagan, installed in 2007, is not eligible; the law requires statues to remain for at least 10 years.

The current collection of statues can be viewed here.

US Navy Christens Ship For Sally Ride

The US Navy has christened its new ship named after late astronaut Sally Ride in a ceremony featuring her partner of 27 years.

Dr. Tam O'Shaughnessy, ship's sponsor for the auxiliary general oceanographic research (AGOR) vessel R/V Sally Ride (AGOR 28), breaks a bottle across the bow during a christening ceremony at the Dakota Creek Industries, Inc., shipyard in Anacortes, Wash. Joining O'Shaughnessy on the platform are Mr. Dick Nelson, president, Dakota Creek Industries, Inc., Matron of Honor, the reverend Dr. Bear Ride, Matron of Honor, Kathleen Ritzman, assistant director, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, Kathryn Sullivan, undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and administrator, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Rear Adm. Matthew Klunder, chief of naval research.

Ride died of pancreatic cancer in 2012 at the age of 61. (Tipped by JMG reader Rob)

Tam O'Shaughnessy On Sally Ride

Yesterday Tam O'Shaughnessy accepted the Presidential Medal Of Freedom on behalf of her late partner, Sally Ride. This afternoon the White House posted the below clip to their official YouTube channel. As of this writing, there's no clip from Walter Naegle, who accepted yesterday on behalf of his late partner, Bayard Rustin.

UPDATED: Sally Ride & Bayard Rustin Get Presidential Medal Of Freedom

Accepting the medals on behalf of their late partners were Tam O'Shaughnessy (Sally Ride) and Walter Naegle (Bayard Rustin). Both presentations were preceded by the off-stage announcer recounting the contributions made by Ride and Rustin to the history of the LGBT movement. The live stream has now concluded.

HomoQuotable - Tam O'Shaughnessy

"It’s scary to be open because you don’t realized the impact that it might have on so many aspects of your life. You worry about grants, about whether you’ll be able to continue writing children’s textbooks; we were scared that if sponsors knew the founders of Sally Ride Science were two lesbians, if that would affect our organization. I wanted to ensure Sally’s legacy reflected the integrity in which she lived her life. For her not to be open in this one way felt wrong." - Tam O'Shaughnessy [background in photo], on the decision to out Ride in her obituary. O'Shaughnessy says Ride left it up to her. "‘You decide,’ she said and that shocked me. That girl was great about surprises."

Today Sally Ride and Bayard Rustin, the gay black man who organized the 1963 March On Washington, will posthumously receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.

Civil Rights Pioneer Bayard Rustin And Astronaut Sally Ride To Be Posthumously Awarded Presidential Medal Of Freedom

Civil rights pioneer (and gay man) Bayard Rustin, who organized the 1963 March On Washington, and astronaut Sally Ride, who (at her request) was outed after her death of cancer last year, will be among the recipients of this year's Presidential Medal Of Freedom awards, the highest honor given to any civilian. Via press release from the White House:

This year marks the 50th Anniversary of the Executive Order signed by President John F. Kennedy establishing the Presidential Medal of Freedom, as well as the first ceremony bestowing the honor on an inaugural class of 31 recipients. Since that time, more than 500 exceptional individuals from all corners of society have been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.  President Obama said, “The Presidential Medal of Freedom goes to men and women who have dedicated their own lives to enriching ours. This year's honorees have been blessed with extraordinary talent, but what sets them apart is their gift for sharing that talent with the world. It will be my honor to present them with a token of our nation's gratitude."

The Human Rights Campaign reacts:

Bayard Rustin’s contributions to the American civil rights movement remain paramount to its successes to this day,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “His role in the fight for civil rights of African-Americans is all the more admirable because he made it as a gay man, experiencing prejudice not just because of his race, but because of his sexual orientation as well.” Rustin was active in the struggle for civil rights for sixty years, from organizing early freedom rides in the 1940s, to serving as key advisor to Dr. King, to helping found the A. Philip Randolph Institute.

But his advocacy was far from limited to the rights of African Americans. He worked to end apartheid in South Africa, fought for the freedom of Soviet Jews, worked to protect the property of Japanese Americans interned during World War II, and helped highlight the plight of Vietnamese “boat people.” And in the 1980s, he also spoke up for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, testifying in support of anti-discrimination legislation in New York. “Bayard Rustin dedicated his life to advocating for fairness and equality and overcame prejudice to help move our nation forward,” added Griffin.

 The 50th anniversary of the March On Washington is August 28th.

RELATED: Some of this year's other recipients will surely upset the wingnuts. They are: Ernie Banks, Ben Bradlee, Bill Clinton, Daniel Inouye, Daniel Kahneman, Richard Lugar, Loretta Lynn, Mario Molina, Arturo Sandoval, Dean Smith, Gloria Steinem, C.T. Vivian, Patricia Wald, Oprah Winfrey.

Late Lesbian Astronaut Sally Ride To Get Posthumous Medal Of Freedom

President Obama revealed yesterday that he will honor late astronaut Sally Ride with the Medal Of Freedom. Via White House press release:

The Medal of Freedom is the Nation’s highest civilian honor, presented to individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors. President Obama said, “We remember Sally Ride not just as a national hero, but as a role model to generations of young women. Sally inspired us to reach for the stars, and she advocated for a greater focus on the science, technology, engineering and math that would help us get there. Sally showed us that there are no limits to what we can achieve, and I look forward to welcoming her family to the White House as we celebrate her life and legacy.”

Ride was outed after her death last July when her obituary mentioned her longtime partner.

Research Ship Named For Sally Ride

An oceanography research ship to be operated on behalf of the US Navy has been named for astronaut Sally Ride, who died last year of pancreatic cancer.

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said in a statement, “Sally Ride’s career was one of firsts and will inspire generations to come. I named R/V Sally Ride to honor a great researcher, but also to encourage generations of students to continue exploring, discovering and reaching for the stars.” It is common for a research vessel to be named after an explorer or scientist. Scripps’ current fleet of Navy-owned ships includes the Roger Revelle, which bears the name of the late UC San Diego scientist who helped pioneer the study of global warming. The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Cape Cod, Mass., is getting a ship named R/V Neil Armstrong.

Ride became the first female American astronaut in 1983. After her passing it was revealed that she had been in a decades-long relationship with a woman.