What do music legend Bob Dylan, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and novelist Toni Morrison have in common? Today they will join the small but elite club of political and cultural icons to receive the nation’s highest civilian honor: the Medal of Freedom.

Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone” and “Mr. Tambourine Man,” Morrison’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “Beloved,” and Albright’s efforts to champion democracy, human rights  and good governance across the globe are all considered  accomplishments worthy of this honor.