President Joe Biden became emotional as he honored acclaimed filmmakers, singers, writers, and others who have made their mark on American culture, awarding the prestigious National Medals of Arts and National Humanities Medals to 39 recipients.
Filmmakers Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, and Ken Burns and singers Missy Elliott and Queen Latifah were among 20 recipients of National Medals of Arts, while the 19 recipients of National Humanities Medals included playwright-screenwriter Aaron Sorkin and historian Jon Meacham.
Three of the medals were awarded posthumously: The late singer Selena Quintanilla and artist Ruth Asawa are arts medal winners and the late chef-author Anthony Bourdain was among the humanities medal winners.
“Above all, you are the masters of your craft that have made us a better America with all of you have done,” Biden said at the White House ceremony.
Biden grew emotional as he recounted that Dr. Martin Luther King, as a ten-year-old boy, listened on the radio to Marian Anderson sing “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee” on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1939 after she had been denied from performing at Constitution Hall. Decades later, when King delivered his famous speech at the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington, Biden recounted that Anderson was there to sing again.
“She sang, “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands,” Biden said. “My fellow Americans, today we honor that legacy.”
Biden also told the winners that the moment was a “very consequential time in the arts and humanities in America” because “extreme forces are banning books, trying to erase history, spreading misinformation.”
The arts medals are given “to individuals or groups who are deserving of special recognition by reason of their outstanding contributions to the excellence, growth, support, and availability of the arts in the United States.”
Other humanities winners included former U.S. poet laureate Joy Harjo, actor-literacy advocate LeVar Burton, cartoonist Roz Chast, and philanthropists Wallis Annenberg and Darren Walker. The humanities medals honor “an individual or organization whose work has deepened the nation’s understanding of the human experience, broadened citizens’ engagement with history or literature, or helped preserve and expand Americans’ access to cultural resources.”
This article was provided by The Associated Press.