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UPDATE: Joe Biden got several standing ovations as he presented the National Medals of Arts and Humanities, including a moment when he referenced the presidential race as he talked about the power of women.
“I know the power of women to get things done, and also help the next generation of pioneers, proving a woman can do anything a man can do and then some. That includes being president of the United States of America.”
The remark drew large cheers and a standing ovation from the audience in the East Room, where Biden was joined by First Lady Jill Biden, National Endowmentr for the Arts chair Maria Rosario Jackson and National Endowment for the Humanities chair Shelly C. Lowe.
Among the recipients present were Steven Spielberg, LeVar Burton, Spike Lee, Missy Elliott, Queen Latifah, Idina Menzel, Jon Meacham. Aaron Sorkin and Bruce Cohen.
“The power of the arts and matters. It matters now more than ever. This is a very consequential time for the arts and the humanities of America,” Biden said. “Extreme forces are banning books, trying to erase history, straight misinformation.” He told the recipients, “You make history. You combast lies with truth.”
There were 39 recipients of the medals at the event, as the White House combined the 2022 and 2023 ceremonies. The honorees already had received their medals by the time of the public ceremony, and instead were introduced at they entered and stood as a group.
Biden choked up a bit as he recounted the story of a 10-year-old Martin Luther King Jr. listening on the radio when singer Marian Anderson performed My Country, Tis Of Thee at the Lincoln Memorial in 1939. Because of her race, she was barred from appearing at the Daughters of the American Revolution hall, so then-First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt had her perform on the steps of the memorial.
“Twenty five years later, that 10 year old boy stood in those same steps,” Biden said. “His name was Martin Luther King Jr. and he declared a dream during the March on Washington. He asked Marian Anderson to perform once again, and she did.”
PREVIOUSLY: President Joe Biden will honor recipients of the National Medals of Arts and Humanities later today, with a list of recipients that include Steven Spielberg, Eva Longoria, Bruce Cohen and Spike Lee.
Other honorees include Aaron Sorkin, LeVar Burton, Dawn Porter, Queen Latifah, Missy Elliott, Idina Menzel, Ken Burns and Jon Meacham.
The arts medal is “the highest award given to artists, arts patrons, and groups by the United States Government and honors exemplary individuals and organizations that have advanced the arts in America and offered inspiration to others through their distinguished achievement, support, or patronage,” according to the White House.
The ceremony, to take place in the East Room later this afternoon, will honor recipients for 2022 and 2023.
The 2022 National Medal Of Arts honorees include artist Ruth Asawa (posthumously), photographer Randy A. Batista, landscape photographer Clyde Butcher, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Elliott, musician Leonaro “Flaco” Jimenez, Longoria, Menzel, musician Herbert I. Ohta, arts leader Bruce Sagan and visual artist Carrie Mae Weems.
The 2023 arts recipients include artist Mark Bradford, Burns, Cohen, artist Alex Katz, arts leader Joe Carole Lauder, Lee, Latifah, Selena Quintanilla (posthumously) and Spielberg.
The National Humanities Medal “honors individuals or groups whose work has deepened the nation’s understanding of the humanities and broadened our citizens’ engagement with history, literature, languages, philosophy, and other humanities subjects.”
The 2022 National Humanities Medal recipients include philanthropist Wallis Annenberg, community arts and programming center Appalshop, poet Joy Harjo, principal and educator Robin Harris, writer Juan Felipe Herrera, Indigenous higher education administrator Robert Martin, Meacham, higher education administrator Ruth J. Simmons and Chinese literature scholar Pauline Yu.
The 2023 recipients include chef and author Anthony Bourdain (posthumously), Burton, cartoonist and author Roz Chast, scholar and publisher of Hispanic literature Nicolás Kanellos, scholar and author Robin Wall Kimmerer, the Mellon Foundation, Porter, Sorkin, social justice philanthropost Darren Walker, and anthropologist and cultural leader Rosita Worl.
The last ceremony for National Medals of Arts and Humanities was in March, 2023.
The public can nominate recipients for the National Medal of Arts which are then considered by the National Council on the Arts and forwarded to the president. The honors was created by Congress in 1984 and was first awarded the following year.
The presidential also consults with the National Endowment for the Humanities for the humanities medals, which were first awarded in 1997.
