When terms fail, it’s often heart that speaks to all of us most eloquently. Therefore now I want to show you simply for a couple of minutes how inadequate words can be as I introduce our exceptional nominees. On this line of work, I sometimes get to meet some royals, as well as heads of state, but few can compare to the empress of soul. Gladys Knight provides belted out the soundtrack to our lives for decades, ever since making her musical debut at the ripe age of four. Deploying that outstanding voice – its credibility, its emotion, its intensity, to doo-wop to Motown to 70s soul and gospel, Ms. Knight has made music that’s mended minds, lifted spirits, and sometimes just plain made us dancing. Her legacy endures in her music as well as the progress that she forged for civil rights more than so many years, and in the particular generations of artists that will she continues to inspire.
Welcome, everybody, and have a great evening. (Applause. )
Tania León’s music defies categorization, weaving cloth together traditions from Harlem to the (inaudible). Her works touch on themes from women’s suffrage, integration, to the brutality of army rule. And in any of her 40 chamber functions, 10 orchestral pieces, 6 ballets, you’re as prone to hear instruments like the marimba, the djembe, the bongos as you are to hear flutes and oboes and bassoons. Now, I’m told that on hearing some of the girl earliest compositions, Ms. León’s father asked her: Where are you in your songs? If you listen, you will discover her radiant presence in everything that she’s composed ever since.
The Kennedy Center Honors is an organization, the premier celebration of American cultural life, and it would not be complete without the presence of another residing institution, David Rubenstein. (Applause. ) Now, we would be here all night if I went through the extraordinary list of philanthropic endeavors that David’s already been behind over many years, but let me just mention one, because it’s particularly highly relevant to this evening. Earlier this evening, many of you passed through the John Quincy Adams Area, where displayed is a national treasure, one of just 201 surviving copies of the Declaration of Independence, commissioned simply by then-Secretary of State Steve Quincy Adams more than 2 centuries ago. It had been loaned to the department by David, and we are so grateful to have it. We’re grateful to have you. (Applause. )
We have remarkable guests at every table. When you’ll allow me just a instant – or, as we say, a point of personal privilege – there are some close colleagues from the United States Congress who are here tonight that I’d like to acknowledge at the top. Senator Pat Leahy. (Applause. ) Chairman Greg Meeks. (Applause. ) Rating Member Mike McCaul. (Applause. ) Mike and I both know about three chords on the guitar, and we are threatening to play them. (Laughter. ) And finally, the Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. (Applause. )
Ladies and men, normally – normally – that would be the culmination. But we also have John Pelosi here too. (Applause. ) We could not be happier to see you, Paul.
So it’s particularly fantastic to have all of you in the Benjamin Franklin Room. Ben is looking down on us right now. (Laughter. ) Many of you have been here prior to; it’s great to have you back. Now, Ben Franklin, of course , was our nation’s first diplomat. He charted the Gulf Stream, pioneered electricity; he or she gave us our cast of self-government. Plus virtually none of this do he do while sober. (Laughter. ) Story has it that when Ben visited France to negotiate our first alliance, before he went, he would extol the particular virtues of going to bed earlier. But then as ambassador to France, he mentioned, and I quote, “Wine is certainly proof that God enjoys us and wants all of us to be happy. ” (Laughter. ) So this will be (inaudible).
When the top award for contributions in order to American cultural life goes to a bunch of guys from Ireland, well, they must be some thing special. (Laughter. ) Guitar, bass, drums, words – as simple as that, as soaring as that will. Anthemic singalongs, ballads of tremendous tenderness, a global audience for nearly 50 yrs. Now I should say: guitar, bass, drums, vocals – my group experienced that too, but – (laughter) – somehow it doesn’t quite sound the same. But here’s the thing. U2 has always fused soft power with difficult rock, not only through iconic songs but also through their own commitment to social proper rights and human dignity, that is inseparable from their music. Few musical groups have been as outspoken, as committed, as effective in taking on some of the toughest global issues.
Deborah Rutter, to you and the Kennedy Center panel, whose innovative, inclusive eyesight honors President Kennedy’s perception that art is not just a resuscitation of the past but rather the search for new means of expressing the present and the upcoming, we’re so grateful to get everything you do to continue to inspire our nation.
Michael Clayton; Up in the Air; Descendants; Three Nobleman; Out of Sight – I could go on. And that doesn’t even cover all of George Clooney’s Oscar wins. George manages to be both an old-school movie star and an exceptional actor with amazing range. Now, for most people, successful multiple Academy Awards plus Golden Globes would be a career-defining feat, but in George’s case it’s only one of many astonishing achievements. George will be the rare star who swivels the spotlight away from themself and onto some of the most vexing issues of our day. He’s relentless in pursuit of justice. His Clooney Foundation for Justice, launched along with Amal, is monitoring criminal trials, supporting the prosecution of war crimes, giving legal aid around the world. George is the living agreement of a maxim handed down in order to him by his father, Nick, who’s here this evening – thank you. (Applause. ) As Nick told George, always challenge anyone in power and continually defend anyone without strength.
The artists that we commemorate tonight have done just that. They’ve connected us; they’ve uplifted us; they have increased us. Whatever we might face as a global neighborhood, whatever the challenges, whatever the realities, the opportunities of this time, we do it fortified with the beauty, by the inspiration, by power of these outstanding musicians. And it is quite simply great to honor you tonight.
ADMIN BLINKEN: Good evening, everyone. Pleasant. Welcome to the State Division. Welcome to what is for us an incredibly special evening. The Kennedy Center Honors is one of our favorite occasions of the year. Really, I’ll let you in on the secret: It’s our favorite. (Applause. )
Franklin seemed to be an inventor of an early musical instrument, the armonica, made from – you guessed this – wine glasses. So I strongly encourage you to use your glasses in the classical manner tonight, but all of us do have one of the world’s greatest composers here, Tania León, so if folks want to remain behind and get together for an after party, maybe you may compose something with the eyeglasses. (Laughter. )
Inside a world where there are few big problems that the United States can solve alone, we can not lose sight of this general connection. The arts give us language to talk about the aspirations that we all hold, the emotions that individuals share, the challenges that people face. As Admin, I’ve been fortunate to travel the world and see up close the way the arts can communicate throughout borders.
U2 has forged a legacy that transcends the realm associated with music. President Kennedy wrote that, and I quote, “Behind the storm associated with daily conflict and crisis, the dramatic confrontations, the tumult of political battle, the poet, the artist…continues the quiet work associated with centuries, building bridges of experience between peoples, reminding [us] from the universality of [our] feelings and wishes and despairs…reminding [us] that the forces that unite are deeper compared to [the forces] that will divide. ”
When Amy Grant was just 15, a record producer heard the girl demo. It was so good that he couldn’t wait in order to mail it to his boss, so he picked up the tape recorder, put it next to the phone, and Amy got an offer on the spot. Today, Amy Grant is recognized as the Queen of Alfredia pop, with 30 mil albums sold, a billion dollars global streams, six Grammys, plus stars on three separate walks of popularity. Her message of compassion, the overwhelming warmth when she sings, the particular sheer joy that radiates from everything she has made her, throughout the United states of america and beyond, a household name. Now, I’ve got to add that with Vince Gill as part of your household guitar, (inaudible) star power to extra. Resilient, welcoming, ample on and off the stage, Amy Grant reminds us that no matter the challenges we encounter, we can all be channels designed for light and for good on earth.
And thank you also to our MC for your evening, a certain Garth Brooks. (Applause. ) Garth is no stranger to the Kennedy Center Honors. He is also played for nearly every U. S. president given that Jimmy Carter, when Garth was very small, and, naturally , President Biden’s inauguration. So it’s wonderful to have you. So tonight, Garth, we’re going to give you a break. You just arrive at sit back and hand out some medals. (Laughter. ) But if you feel compelled to maybe sing Amazing Elegance (inaudible). (Laughter. )
So , as America’s first diplomat, Franklin realized that the bonds between countries are not just forged simply by governments but by individuals, and sometimes those connections take root a little deeper when they come in the form of a song or a symphony, the painting or a performance, rather than, let’s say, maybe a presentation by the Secretary of State. That’s why cultural diplomacy is such a key pillar of our work here at the State Department.
Our own Bureau of Educational plus Cultural Affairs harnesses the power of education exchanges, sports activities, and the arts to build links between the Americas and people around the world. I’m a true believer in these programs, and even easily wasn’t, I wouldn’t have a choice because my wife utilized to run the Bureau associated with Educational and Cultural Affairs (inaudible). (Applause. ) And I’m so pleased that we’re joined by the current Assistant Secretary associated with State Lee Satterfield. (Applause. )
So the bottom line is this: This room, made for the first ambassador, is a installing place to celebrate honorees that are diplomats themselves. Their own art forges the cable connections that transcend language, that transcend nationality, that speak out loud deeply with people across oceans and continents. Eventually, these artists remind all of us of our common humanity, it does not matter who we are or exactly where we’re from, we can and are all moved by the artistry. You don’t have to speak English to feel some thing when you listen to Midnight Teach to Georgia. (Laughter. ) And Gladys, I actually hear the back and on, the call and response in your way on the path to the Pips in my mind all the time.
An example. Earlier this along with Bogotá, Colombia, I stopped at a museum called Fragmentos, or even fragments, constructed after the end of Colombia’s five-decades-long city war. Under Colombia’s peace accord, it was agreed that guns would be switched over, they’d be melted down, and they’d be taken to create war memorials. But the sculptor thought it had been wrong to create a traditional straight monument made of weapons that individuals would have to look up at and admire, so she came up with the idea of melting down the sac to become the floor of the photo gallery. Women who were sufferers of sexual assault throughout the war volunteered to lb the metals – pound them into tiles using mallets. Today, site visitors walk on the guns plus it’s the people, not the war combatants, who have the power.
