[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 15]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 21947]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



  EAST BAY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS CELEBRATES 33RD ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. GEORGE MILLER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 7, 2001

  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend 
the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts on the occasion of its 33rd 
Anniversary. Each year, East Bay Center programs benefit more than 
25,000 members of the ethnically diverse, low-income, inner-city 
communities in and around Richmond, California. Since its founding in 
1968, East Bay Center has directly touched the lives of over 700,000 
people. Its Art and Public Education Outreach Program reaches an 
average of 2,500 students per week in 24 schools in two school 
districts. Center faculty, staff and board members reflect the 
community they serve in terms of ethnicity, economic background and 
family structure. Together, the staff and faculty speak more than 15 
languages.
  The Center nurtures a critical range of minority and mainstream arts, 
including over 12 culturally distinct repertoire forms, and sustains 
nine culturally distinct Resident Companies providing 30-40 low or no-
cost performances each year. Those resident companies are: Iron 
Triangle Theater, Richmond BLOCO, Son de la Tierra, Mien Legends, My 
View Film Crew, Richmond Jazz Collective, Youth West African Music And 
Dance Ensemble, Richmond Chamber Ensemble, and Richmond Ballet Theater. 
The Center's Living the Mission programs involve the Center in ongoing 
partnerships with social service providers such as group homes, 
domestic violence agencies, homeless shelters, and juvenile hall.
  The East Bay Center for the Performing Arts has been the recipient of 
many awards and honors over the years. Among those recently received by 
the Center are: a ``2001 Youth to Youth Award'' from the San Francisco 
Foundation's Youth Initiative Leadership Program; ``2001 Community 
Impact Award'' from the Iron Triangle Neighborhood Council and 
Community Collaborative; ``1999 Coming Up Taller Award'' supported by 
the President's Commission on the Arts and the Humanities and the 
National Endowment for the Arts, ``1999 Cyril Magnin Award for 
Outstanding Achievement in the Arts'' presented by the Business Arts 
Council, a project of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce; 
``Governors Award for Community Service for 1999'' from the Board of 
Governors of the San Francisco Chapter of the National Academy of 
Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS); and ``1998 Honor Roll Winner'' in 
the category of ``Communities that are Safe and Provide a High Quality 
of Life'', awarded by the Contra Costa Children and Families Policy 
Forum.
  Mr. Speaker, I commend the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts 
for its commitment to excellence and its efforts to ensure that the 
opportunities for a quality education in the arts should be available 
to all persons, regardless of background, age, physical disabiilty, 
previous experience or ability to pay standard fees. I applaud the 
Center for its efforts to engage the arts, which speak to our common 
humanity, as a vehicle for social reconciliation and social change.

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