Bill Reed, author of "Hot from Harlem: Twelve African American Entertainers", referred to Fitzgerald as the "Civil Rights Crusader", facing discrimination throughout her career. In 1954 on her way to one of her concerts in Australia she was unable to board the Pan American flight due to racial discrimination. Although she faced several obstacles and racial barriers, she was recognized as a "cultural ambassador," receiving the National Medal of Arts in 1987 and America's highest non-military honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.