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Biden awarding 1st batch of arts, humanities medals Tuesday

Posted March 20, 2023 1:00 am

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band perform Feb. 1 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla. Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Bruce Springsteen has a Presidential Medal of Freedom and a coveted Kennedy Center Honor. He has won multiple Grammys and Golden Globes, plus an Academy Award and a special Tony Award.

Springsteen will add to his collection of accolades on Tuesday when President Joe Biden honors "the Boss" with the 2021 National Medal of Arts. It's the nation's highest award for advancing the arts in America.

Springsteen, who has sold around 140 million albums, is among a dozen individuals and groups that Biden has chosen to honor with arts medals during a White House ceremony on Tuesday. First lady Jill Biden will also participate.

At the same event, Biden will award 2021 National Humanities Medals to a group including authors Amy Tan, Colson Whitehead and Ann Patchett. The medal honors individuals or groups for work that deepens understanding of the humanities.

The medals are Biden's first batch of awards for the arts and humanities and were delayed by the pandemic. The president surprised Sir Elton John with a National Humanities Medal during a White House musical event last September.

Recipients of the 2021 National Medal of Arts:

• Judith Francisca Baca, artist.

• Fred Eychaner, businessman and philanthropist.

• Jose Feliciano, singer.

• Mindy Kaling, actress.

• Gladys Knight, singer.

• Julia Louis-Dreyfus, actor.

• Antonio Martorell-Cardona, painter.

• Joan Shigekawa, film producer.

• Bruce Springsteen.

• Vera Wang:, fashion designer.

• The Billie Holiday Theatre.

• The International Association of Blacks in Dance.

Recipients of the 2021 National Humanities Medal:

• Richard Blanco, poet and author.

• Johnnetta Betsch Cole, anthropologist.

• Walter Isaacson, writer.

• Earl Lewis, social historian.

• Henrietta Mann, academic.

• Ann Patchett, author.

• Bryan Stevenson, advocate for the poor.

• Amy Tan, author.

• Tara Westover, author.

• Colson Whitehead, author.

• Native America Calling.

Jose Feliciano sings the national anthem during an NFL game between the Green Bay Packers and the Miami Dolphins on Dec. 25, 2022, in Miami Gardens, Fla. Associated Press

Mindy Kaling arrives at the Oscars on March 12 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Associated Press

Julia Louis-Dreyfus and son Charlie Hall, who also is an actor, arrive for the State Dinner with President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron at the White House on Dec. 1, 2022.

Colson Whitehead attends the WSJ. Magazine Innovator Awards at the Museum of Modern Art on Nov. 1, 2021, in New York. Associated Press

Bryan Stevenson arrives at the 31st annual Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala on Jan. 2, 2020, in Palm Springs, Calif. Associated Press

Author Amy Tan arrives for the State Dinner for Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the White House on Aug. 2, 2016. Associated Press

Novelist Ann Patchett poses in her independent bookstore, Parnassus Books, in Nashville, Tenn., on June 25, 2020. Associated Press

FILE - Gladys Knight performs in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Dec. 14, 2022, during the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit dinner. President Joe Biden will award Knight with the 2021 National Medal of Arts on March 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Fashion designer Vera Wang attends the grand opening of the Shops & Restaurants at Hudson Yards on March 14, 2019, in New York. Associated Press

President Joe Biden, accompanied by first lady Jill Biden, speaks during a Nowruz celebration on Monday in the East Room of the White House. Associated Press

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