[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (1999, Book II)]
[September 29, 1999]
[Pages 1624-1629]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Remarks on Presenting the Arts and Humanities Awards
September 29, 1999
The President. Thank you very much. Thank you so much, ladies and
gentlemen. Welcome. I want to welcome all of our honorees here: Bill
Ivey and all the people from the
National Endowment for the Humanities; Bill Ferris and all the people from the National Endowment for the
Arts; the people from Library and Museum Services; Members of Congress.
I have seen Senator Wellstone and
Congressman Houghton, Representative
Morella and Nadler. There may be others here.
I want to thank the people of our shared homeland, the Irish band
and the step dancers, for doing such a wonderful job today. I thought
they were great. If George Mitchell
doesn't get us over the final hump in the last steps of the Irish peace
process, I may just send them back until everybody--[laughter]--is
smiling so much they can't think of anything other than ending the
conflict.
I'd also like to thank the wonderful strings from the Marine Corps
for doing such a great job for us here today.
In one of his final speeches, President Kennedy said he looked
forward to an America which rewards achievement in the arts as we reward
achievement in business; an America which commands respect throughout
the world not only for its strength but for its civilization. Today we
recognize an extraordinary group of Americans who have strengthened our
civilization and whose achievements have enriched our lives through the
songs they sing, the stories they tell, the books they write, the art
they shape, the gifts they share.
Eighteen women and men, one educational institution, all having
defined in their own unique ways a part of who we are as a people and
what we're about as a nation as we enter a new century in a new
millennium.
First I present the National Medal of the Arts winners.
Irene Diamond, one of America's leading
patrons of the arts, has dedicated her life to discovery. As an early
Hollywood talent scout, she discovered Burt Lancaster and Robert
Redford. For that alone, some people think she should get this award.
[Laughter]
As one of the movie industry's first female story editors,
she discovered the script that became
``Casablanca.'' I believe when the film industry issued its list of 100
greatest films, ``Casablanca'' only ranked second, Irene, but some of us
voted for it number one. [Laughter]
As the president of the Aaron Diamond Foundation, she helped fuel the pathbreaking research that led to the
discovery of protease inhibitors, which are now helping people with HIV
lead longer and healthier lives. As a generous supporter of the arts,
she has given more than $70 million to help more Americans discover the
magic of theater, dance, and song.
It has been said that discovery consists of seeing what everyone has
seen and thinking what no one has thought. We are all far richer for the
vision, the insight, and the discoveries of this most precious
Diamond.
Colonel, read the citation.
[Lt. Col. Carlton D. Everhart, USAF, Air
Force Aide to the President, read the citation, and the President
presented the medal.]
[[Page 1625]]
The President. The Reverend C.L. Franklin, then pastor of Detroit's
New Bethel Baptist Church, was a powerfully emotional preacher. But one
Sunday in 1954 it was the heavenly voice of a 12-year-old that brought
the congregation to its feet. The voice belonged to his own daughter,
Aretha, the woman now idolized throughout
the world as the Queen of Soul.
No matter where she has traveled, she
has never left behind the sound of those Sundays in church. You could
hear it ranging over four full octaves when she sang Dr. King to heaven
and in electrifying performances at our Inaugural celebrations. You can
hear it in every one of her nearly 50 albums, and I am so grateful that
she has allowed me to hear it time after time here at the White House.
Aretha's voice once was designated a
natural resource of the State of Michigan. [Laughter] She will probably
never know how many people whose lives she has enriched, whose hearts
she has lifted, how many people she gave a spring in the step that would
not have been there, and brought sunshine to a rainy day and tenderness
to a hardened heart.
Today we honor her for all she has given
with the magnificent talent God gave her.
Colonel, read the citation.
[Lieutenant Colonel Everhart read the citation, and the President
presented the medal.]
The President. Michael Graves is a rare
individual who finds equal wonder in things both large and small. As one
of our century's most important designers and architects, he has said he
gets as much pleasure planning a large building as he does designing a
spatula. [Laughter]
So it's little wonder that Michael Graves' work can be found from our shopping malls to our
National Mall, from an award-winning office building to a tea kettle to
the creative scaffolding around the Washington Monument--which, I might
say, has enriched the lives of every person in Washington, DC--
[laughter]--and made those often stuck in what is now America's most
crowded traffic-patterned city have their time pass a little better;
Michael Graves has created art that surrounds our lives.
He calls himself a great practitioner,
but in some ways his challenge is more daunting than that of a
physician. As Frank Lloyd Wright once said, ``After all, the doctor can
bury his mistake,''--[laughter]--``but the architect can only advise his
client to plant vines.'' [Laughter] The only thing that grows and covers
Michael Graves' work is our admiration, appreciation, and respect.
Colonel, read the citation.
[Lieutenant Colonel Everhart read the citation, and the President
presented the medal.]
The President. When it comes to training in the performing arts, the
Juilliard School stands alone. Juilliard has cultivated the genius of
artists of world renown. We hear it in the flawless voice of Leontyne
Price, in the virtuoso violin of Itzhak Perlman, the narrative jazz of
Wynton Marsalis, the uninhibited humor of Robin Williams.
But Juilliard does more than develop the skills of gifted artists.
It instills in every student the obligation to share that talent with
others through performances in hospitals, nursing homes, hundreds of
free shows every year at the Lincoln Center.
In honoring the artist in society, Juilliard opens the doors of art
to the world. We honor it today for all it has done and all it will do
in taking the best and making them even better.
I'd like to ask Dr. Joe Polisi, the
president of the Juilliard School, to come forward, and I'd like to ask
the Colonel to read the citation.
[Lieutenant Colonel Everhart read the citation, and the President
presented the medal.]
The President. Norman Lear has held up a
mirror to American society and changed the way we look at it. From
Archie Bunker's living room in Queens to Fred Sanford's junkyard in
Watts, he has employed the power of humor in the service of human
understanding. His departure from traditional, two-dimensional
television characters was risky. It showed the enormous respect he has
for the judgment, the sense, and the heart of the American people.
He gave us something real. He tackled issues
head on. Archie Bunker, after all, was the best argument against his own
bigotry. By laying it out unvarnished, Norman Lear took it apart and, in
the process, made us laugh out loud. His commitment to promoting
understanding and tolerance extends far beyond the screen. As founder of
People For the American Way and the Business Enterprise Trust, he
continues his work to deepen freedom, defend liberties, and reward
social responsibility.
[[Page 1626]]
The first time I ever met Norman Lear was in
early 1981, shortly after the Presidential election of 1980, in which I
became the youngest former Governor in American history. [Laughter]
Norman Lear invited me to come talk about a project with him in New
York, and he took me to a play on Broadway that he produced. We went to
opening night. It closed 3 days later. [Laughter] We are here today
because the intervening years have been kinder to both of us. [Laughter]
I'm not sure Archie Bunker would approve, but Meathead would be proud
and so are we.
Colonel, read the citation.
[Lieutenant Colonel Everhart read the citation, and the President
presented the medal.]
The President. When she was 7, Rosetta LeNoire broke both her legs; actually, doctors broke them for
her. She was born with rickets; it was the only way the bones could grow
in place. Her godfather Bill ``Bojangles'' Robinson, said that dancing
could strengthen her legs and took her on the road.
She moved on to success: Broadway, film,
and, of course, television, where we remember her as Mother Winslow on
``Family Matters'' and Nell Carter's mother on ``Gimme a Break.'' But
with all her talent and drive through the years, discrimination was
never far behind. So Rosetta did more than dream of a theater with no
color bar, she actually built one.
For more than 30 years, the AMAS Musical Theatre in New York City
has been a place where performers are judged by the caliber of their
skills, not the color of their skin. As a courageous child,
Rosetta learned that sometimes you have to
break things to put them in the right place. Today America thanks her
for breaking barriers to set our Nation right.
Colonel, read the citation.
[Lieutenant Colonel Everhart read the citation, and the President
presented the medal.]
The President. In 1967 Harvey Lichtenstein was given an impossible task, to breathe life into the
Brooklyn Academy of Music, a neighborhood relic on the verge of being
razed for tennis courts. Not only did he save the academy, he turned it
into one of the most important avant-garde institutions in the entire
world.
In his 32 years as a charismatic
impresario, visionary, and father of the Brooklyn Academy of Music, he
sparked the stunning careers of Twyla Tharp, Philip Glass, Mark Morris,
so many other artists Manhattan had overlooked. He launched the
wonderful new Next Wave festival and the BAM Opera. He proved that art
challenges can also be wildly popular.
He truly changed the way we think.
Although he just made his curtain call at the Brooklyn Academy, we know
he will continue to be New York's stellar steward of the arts.
Colonel, read the citation.
[Lieutenant Colonel Everhart read the citation, and the President
presented the medal.]
The President. Lydia Mendoza's unique
musical career spans most of the entire course of the 20th century. She
recorded her first song in a San Antonio hotel room in 1928. More than
70 years and a thousand songs later, her legacy is as wide and deep as
the Rio Grande valley.
Lydia learned much from the oral tradition
of Mexican music that her mother and grandmother shared with her. In
turn, she shared it with the world, becoming the first rural American
woman performer to garner a large following throughout Latin America.
With the artistry of her voice and the
gift of her songs, she bridged the gap between generations and cultures.
Lydia Mendoza is a true American pioneer, and she paved the way for a
whole new generation of Latino performers, who today are making all
Americans sing.
Colonel, read the citation.
[Lieutenant Colonel Everhart read the citation, and the President
presented the medal.]
The President. In late 1949, in the coffeehouses of San Francisco, a
young classically trained singer named Odetta fell in
love with folk music and found her true voice. Soon she began recording
unforgettably soulful albums and touring the world's great stages. In
the words of one early admirer, ``She has such a strong voice and
presence that I am left with the irreverent but irresistible feeling
that if she had been the captain of the Titanic, the ship would not have
sunk.'' [Laughter]
For 50 years now Odetta has used her commanding
power and amazing grace not just to entertain but to inspire. She has
sung for freedom with Dr. King, lifted the pride of millions of
children, shaped the careers of young performers like Joan Baez, Bob
Dylan, and Tracy
[[Page 1627]]
Chapman. She is the reigning queen of American folk music, reminding us
all that songs have the power to change the heart and change the world.
Colonel, read the citation.
[Lieutenant Colonel Everhart read the citation, and the President
presented the medal.]
The President. It started out as just another odd job for this
aspiring artist, researching the artistic
possibilities of plaster used to cast broken bones. ``I had my wife
cover me head to foot in the stuff,'' he said. ``Once it dried, I broke
out of it, breaking the mold in the process; then I put it back
together. It was white, spectral, full of elusive potential, just what I
had been after.''
George Segal's art may be inanimate, but
more than a few of us have had to look twice just to be sure. [Laughter]
His silent creations speak volumes about the human condition and give
life to the spaces where they are displayed. His sculptures at the
Franklin Roosevelt Memorial of the Depression breadline and the fireside
chat transport us back to that time and place.
Through all of his work, George Segal has
brought elegance to the everyday and mystery to the commonplace. Decades
after his first experiments with plaster, he continues to break the
mold.
Colonel, read the citation.
[Lieutenant Colonel Everhart read the citation, and the President
presented the medal.]
The President. George Balanchine once told audiences not to analyze
ballet. ``Words cannot describe it,'' he said. ``You cannot explain a
flower.'' So it's impossible to explain the radiance and grace of Maria
Tallchief.
She leapt from Oklahoma's Osage Indian
territory to the center stages of the world. Her partnership with
Balanchine transformed the ballet world for the ages. She was his
inspiration for the title role in the ``Firebird.'' She was the first
Sugarplum Fairy.
A reviewer once said that hers will
always be the story of ballet conquering America, but also, I would add,
the story of America conquering ballet.
Maria Tallchief took what had been a
European art form and made it America's own. How fitting that a Native-
American woman would do that. With magic, mystery, and style, she soared
above all.
Colonel, read the citation.
[Lieutenant Colonel Everhart read the citation, and the President
presented the medal.]
The President. And now, ladies and gentlemen, for the National
Humanities Medals.
Patricia Battin is saving history. The
high acidic content of paper threatens to destroy millions of old books,
but she has led the national campaign to raise awareness about this
challenge and preserve the genius of the past.
As the first president of the Commission on Preservation and Access,
she has helped to spur America's libraries
and archives to transfer information from so-called brittle books to
microfilm and optical disks. As a result, more than 770,000 books have
already been preserved. She's also one of our Nation's leading
authorities on changing learning patterns of the digital age. From 19th
century books to 21st century technology, Patricia Battin is
strengthening our storehouse of knowledge for the future.
Thank you for saving the knowledge of
the past for the children of tomorrow.
Colonel, read the citation.
[Lieutenant Colonel Everhart read the citation, and the President
presented the medal.]
The President. When it comes to the struggle for peace, justice, and
freedom, Taylor Branch literally has written
the book. With vivid prose and clear-eyed detail, his two volumes on the
Martin Luther King years recount a man and a movement that changed
America for good. As Taylor has said, ``It is really the story of
ordinary people who took risks to enlarge freedom. And we have a much
better country for it.''
Those aren't just Taylor Branch's words;
they also reflect his life. Growing up in segregated Atlanta, Taylor
Branch saw discrimination everywhere he looked. But through it all, he
also saw something else, an America where we heal our racial wounds,
celebrate our differences, and move forward together.
We grew up in the same sort of South, affected by the limits, the
longing, and the language of race, in all of its myriad manifestations.
I met Taylor Branch 30 years ago this month. I
knew then he was a remarkable young man. And I must tell you, I am very
proud of the gifts he has given America in the years since.
In an early sermon, Dr. King said, ``After one has discovered what
he is made for, he
[[Page 1628]]
should seek to do it so well that no one could do it better.'' Anyone
who has read the work of Taylor Branch knows,
no one does it better.
Colonel, read the citation.
[Lieutenant Colonel Everhart read the citation, and the President
presented the medal.]
The President. More than two decades ago, Jacquelyn Dowd Hall explained to an elderly woman why she wanted
to tape her memories. After listening closely to all of Professor Hall's
words, the senior citizen looked up and said, ``I understand. You don't
have to be famous for your life to be history.'' That became the motto
of the Southern Oral History Program directed by Jacquelyn Dowd Hall,
and the rest is truly history.
The program, centered at the University of North Carolina, rings
with the voices of millworkers who have lost their jobs, civil rights
leaders marching for freedom, ordinary folks building their communities.
And I might add, there is a young person from Arkansas by the name of
Clinton whose voice is on one of those tapes who was on the verge of
something really big, losing his first election. [Laughter]
Anyone who grew up in the South knows that no book can capture the
color and the vibrancy that you hear in the everyday conversations on
Main Street, in general stores, on the front porches, and the backyards.
So all of us, whether we are from the South or not, can say thank you,
Jacquelyn Dowd Hall, for capturing that
unique and wonderful voice, for recording history through the lives of
ordinary people, and, in so doing, for making history.
Colonel, read the citation.
[Lieutenant Colonel Everhart read the citation, and the President
presented the medal.]
The President. He was born in Anoka,
Minnesota, but we know him as the man from Lake Wobegon: a town with a
name derived, he tells us, from the Native-American phrase meaning, ``We
sat in the rain all day waiting for you,''--[laughter]--a place he
confesses, settled by pioneers who had stopped a little short, having
misread their map but refused to admit it. [Laughter] Well, Garrison
Keillor has never stopped short. Just ask the Governor of Minnesota.
[Laughter]
Millions of listeners plan their weekends around his ``Prairie Home Companion.'' It's always blaring on
the radio in the White House. No one wants to miss a minute of his
homespun humor, homegrown music, and stories of hometown America. And he
never leaves it behind.
Today when I shook hands with Garrison
he said, ``Well, I understand that you had a cancellation and had to put
me in at the last minute.'' [Laughter] I didn't have the heart to tell
him how sorry I was that Rush Limbaugh couldn't make it today.
[Laughter]
With imagination and wit, but also with a steel-trap mind and deep
conviction, Garrison Keillor has brought us
together and constantly reminds us how we're all connected and how it
ought to keep us a little humble.
We all have a little Lake Wobegon in us, and our homes will always
have a place for Garrison Keillor, our
modern-day Mark Twain.
Colonel, read the citation.
[Lieutenant Colonel Everhart read the citation, and the President
presented the medal.]
The President. While studying to be a newspaperman in a small Texas
town, Jim Lehrer worked nights at a bus depot
calling out departures and arrivals over a microphone. You might say
that's what he had to do for politicians after he assumed his position
on television. [Laughter] He learned to speak clearly, be polite, stick
to the facts, traits that would become his signature style as one of the
most respected and beloved figures in American broadcast journalism.
When sound bites and sensationalism began taking over TV news in the
early 1970's, he teamed up with broadcaster Robert MacNeil to start a nightly newscast that offered the opposite:
long, in-depth stories and interviews on the serious topics of the day;
a show where guests are treated as guests; viewers are treated as
intelligent; viewpoints are treated with respect.
Novelist, playwright, journalist, moderator of Presidential debates,
asker of hard and probing questions--[laughter]--in a deceptively
civilized way--[laughter]--Jim Lehrer is a modern
man of letters who has left us a gift of professionalism and civility,
of true learning and the enlargement of our citizenship by his work.
Colonel, read the citation.
[Lieutenant Colonel Everhart read the citation, and the President
presented the medal.]
The President. John Rawls is perhaps the
greatest political philosopher of the 20th century. In 1971, when
Hillary and I were in law school, we were among the millions moved by
[[Page 1629]]
a remarkable book he wrote, ``A Theory of Justice,'' that placed our
rights to liberty and justice upon a strong and brilliant new foundation
of reason.
Almost singlehandedly, John Rawls revived the
disciplines of political and ethical philosophy with his argument that a
society in which the most fortunate helped the least fortunate is not
only a moral society but a logical one. Just as impressively, he has
helped a whole generation of learned Americans revive their faith in
democracy itself.
Ladies and gentlemen, Margaret Rawls will
accept the medal on behalf of her husband.
Colonel, read the citation.
[Lieutenant Colonel Everhart read the citation, and the President
presented the medal.]
The President. Any time we look at all that Steven
Spielberg has managed to create on film, we
know that that is what God put him here to do. Like Orson Wells, he was
a true cinematic prodigy. He shot his first movies at the age of 12. By
the ripe old age of 35, he was already one of our most gifted
storytellers, with ``Close Encounters,'' ``Raiders of the Lost Ark,''
and ``E.T.'' But when his insatiable moral and imaginative hunger drove
him to create such resident masterpieces as ``Schindler's List,'' one of
the most important movies of the 20th century, and the remarkable,
``Saving Private Ryan,'' we saw that he was an astonishing historian, as
well.
On top of his creative mastery, Steven
has devoted enormous time and resources to preserving Holocaust
testimonies, supporting righteous causes, unleashing the power of
entertainment and technology to help seriously ill children to heal.
Steven Spielberg could have gotten the
National Medal of the Arts, but I think he would want most to be
remembered for his contributions to humanity. I also want to thank him
for all the many times that he and Kate and
their wonderful children have enriched our lives and all the things he
tells me that keep me thinking.
Today I was talking to Steven, and he
said, ``How are you?'' And I said, ``I'm doing pretty good for an older
guy.'' He said, ``Yes, but did you see that article that says that our
children, certainly our grandchildren will live to be 150?'' And I got
to thinking that--Hillary talked
Steven into making the movie that we will show at the American
millennial celebration on The Mall on New Year's Eve, as we see the
turning of the millennium. And Steven has agreed to create this 18-
minute movie of the century, 100 years in 18 minutes, so we'll feel like
we're 150. [Laughter] He always finds a way to make it work.
Colonel, read the citation.
[Lieutenant Colonel Everhart read the citation, and the President
presented the medal.]
The President. Long before ``Fences,'' before ``Seven Guitars,''
before ``Two Trains Running,'' before his two Pulitzers, August
Wilson wrote an essay. He was in high school,
and his teacher refused to believe that a black student could have
produced something that good. Disgusted by the low expectations of his
teacher, August Wilson took refuge in the library. This is what he said:
``I found books by black writers and realized I could do that. I could
have a book on a shelf.''
From the dimly lit library stacks to the bright lights of the stage,
he has chronicled the African-American
experience throughout the 20th century, decade by decade, with epic
plays of dreams and doubts, humor and heartbreak, mystery and music.
Years ago, August Wilson asked a friend
and fellow writer, ``How do you make your characters talk?'' His friend
replied, ``You don't; you listen to them.'' America is richer for the
listening voice, and the landmark drama of August Wilson.
Colonel, read the citation.
[Lieutenant Colonel Everhart read the citation, and the President
presented the medal.]
The President. Ladies and gentlemen, we thank you for sharing in
this celebration and being a part of this last arts and humanities
awards ceremony of the 20th century. On behalf of our Nation, I thank
our honorees for all they have done for us, and I thank you all for
supporting their work, for helping to shape our society, lift our
spirits, expand our boundaries, and share our gifts with the world.
Thank you, and goodbye. Thank you.
Note: The President spoke at 12:55 p.m. at Constitution Hall. In his
remarks, he referred to former Senator George J. Mitchell, who chaired
the multiparty talks in Northern Ireland; and Mr. Spielberg's wife,
actress Kate Capshaw.