“Forgotten Hollywood”- A Letter to the President…
Manny P. here…
“`With Friday’s peaceful transition of power comes the promise of changes in policy. The new administration has eluded to the elimination of the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities. I humbly protest this action. Here is why:
“`On September 29th, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed bills into law that called for the creation of the NEH and NEA as separate, independent agencies. The Washington Post called the creation of the endowments a momentous step.
“`About two hundred people filled the Rose Garden for the bill-signing ceremony. The guest list included actor Gregory Peck, photographer Ansel Adams, philanthropist Paul Mellon, and writer Ralph Ellison. The ceremony marked a high point in a day devoted to a celebration of culture. Vice President Hubert Humphrey hosted the Rose Garden reception. Harkness Ballet performed that night in the East Room of the White House. The bill was the culmination of a movement calling for the federal government to invest in culture; as it had with science.
“`On October 27, 1965, Peck wrote Johnson to express his thanks for being invited, and his appreciation for what the administration had accomplished. Here is the original letter:
“`The actor, best known for his Academy Award–winning role as Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969 for a lifetime of humanitarian achievements.
This entry was posted on Thursday, January 19th, 2017 at 11:14 pm and is filed under Blog by Manny Pacheco. You can follow any comments to this post through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.
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