Three African Americans Presented With the National Medal of Arts

nationalmedalPresident Obama recently awarded the National Medal of Arts to 11 individuals and the Washington Performing Arts Society. During the past 27 years, nearly 300 extraordinary patrons and artists in the fields of visual, performing, and literary arts have been honored. Of the 11 individuals honored this year, three are African Americans. Two have extension ties to education.

GAINESErnest J. Gaines is the writer-in-residence emeritus at the University of Louisiana Lafayette. The Ernest J. Gaines Center located in the Edith Garland Dupre Library on the University of Louisiana Lafayette campus is an international center for scholarship on the author’s work.

The citation for Gaines’ award states, “Drawing deeply from his childhood in the rural South, his works have shed new life on the African American experience and given voice to those who have endured justice.”

Among Gaines most famous works are The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, In My Father’s House, and A Lesson Before Dying. He is a graduate of San Francisco State University.

jmb2Joan Myers Brown is the founder of The Philadelphia Dance Company or Phildanco. She also established the Philadelphia School of Dance Arts and the International Conference of Black Dance Companies. Brown serves on the dance faculty at Howard University in Washington, D.C., and is a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.

Brown is the subject of the book Joan Myers Brown & the Audacious Hope of the Black Ballerina: A Biohistory of American Performance by Brenda Dixon Gottschild (Palgrave Macmillan, 2011).

Allen_ToussaintAllen Toussaint, a native of New Orleans, is a musician, composer, and record producer. Many of his compositions have been made into top hits by other artists. He has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame, and the Blues Hall of Fame.

The citation for his award stated, “Mr. Toussaint has built a legendary career alongside America’s finest musicians, sustaining his city’s rich tradition of rhythm and blues and lifting it to the national stage.”

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Get the JBHE Weekly Bulletin

Receive our weekly email newsletter delivered to your inbox

Latest News

California State University Sacramento Launches Black Honors College

Officially launching for the fall 2024 semester, the Black Honors College will support students from all backgrounds who study Black history, life, and culture by providing them with a specialized curriculum and mentoring opportunities.

Higher Education Gifts or Grants of Interest to African Americans

Here is this week’s news of grants or gifts to historically Black colleges and universities or for programs of particular interest to African Americans in higher education.

In Memoriam: Norman B. Anderson, 1955-2024

Dr. Anderson was the assistant vice president for research and academic affairs at Florida State University at the time of his death. He had an extensive career in clinical psychology, which led him to become the first African American chief executive officer of the American Psychological Association.

Georgia State University Launches Program to Support Black Women in Tech

While Black women account for roughly 29 percent of the Georgia State University undergradaute student body, they represent only 10 percent of the university's computer science majors and 18 percent of the computer information systems majors.

Featured Jobs