By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
The Apollo Theater, Harlem’s legendary cultural institution, has made history by earning a rare Kennedy Center Honors, one of the highest accolades in the arts. For ninety years, the Apollo has been the heart of American culture, nurturing emerging artists, launching legends, and serving as a center of innovation for Harlem, New York City, and the world. As the largest performing arts institution dedicated to Black culture and creativity, the Apollo has significantly influenced popular culture globally.
The Kennedy Center Honors has selected The Apollo Theater, marking the first time a venue, rather than an individual performer, has received this prestigious award.
“We are thrilled to be the first organization honored in the history of the Kennedy Center Awards, emphasizing The Apollo’s impact on the past, present, and future of American culture and the performing arts,” stated Michelle Ebanks, President & CEO of The Apollo.
The 47th Kennedy Center Honors will also celebrate the lifetime achievements of director and filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, blues singer-songwriter and guitarist Bonnie Raitt, jazz trumpeter, pianist, and composer Arturo Sandoval, and the surviving members of the countercultural rock band the Grateful Dead.
“I am profoundly humbled and deeply honored to be selected as a recipient of the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors,” Sandoval said. “This recognition is an extraordinary milestone in my career.”
Raitt said she’s “deeply honored and thrilled to have been chosen to receive one of this year’s Center Honors. There is no higher level of esteem nor as delightful a celebration.”
Frances Ford Coppola reflected on his career and the honor, stating, “There’s no greater honor than to be included along with those who inspired me, who I looked up to, and who gave me encouragement when times were dim.”
The Grateful Dead has always been about community, creativity, and exploration in music and presentation, stated the band’s Bob Weir. “We’ve always felt that the music we make embodies and imparts something beyond the notes and phrases being played—and that is something we are privileged to share with all who are drawn to what we do—so it also must be said that our music belongs as much to our fans, the Dead Heads, as it does to us,” he continued. “This honor, then, is as much theirs as ours.”
The Kennedy Center Honors, which raises funds for the Kennedy Center in Northwest, D.C., will be held on December 8 and aired on CBS on December 23.
Meanwhile, for 90 years, the Apollo has served as a testing ground for new artists working across various art forms and ushering in the emergence of musical genres, including jazz, swing, bebop, R&B, gospel, blues, soul, and hip hop. The countless legendary artists who launched their careers at The Apollo’s Amateur Night, the original, large-scale talent show and one of the longest-running continuous events in New York City, include Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, Luther Vandross, H.E.R., D’Angelo, Lauryn Hill, Machine Gun Kelly, and Miri Ben Ari. The Apollo’s forward-looking artistic vision continues to build on this legacy.
During its 90th anniversary season, the organization opened The Apollo Stages at the Victoria Theater, marking the institution’s first-ever major expansion and renovation. It also began plans to restore and renovate its historic theater. Officials said this will allow The Apollo to increase performances and educational and community programs and expand its support for artists and other cultural organizations.
“From the longest-running talent show in America with, Amateur Night at The Apollo, which launched the careers of icons like Ella Fitzgerald and Lauryn Hill, to performances from beloved legends like Smokey Robinson and Lil’ Kim and today’s biggest stars like Drake, The Apollo has always been a home for artists to create and a home for audiences to see incredible music and art from legendary artists,” Ebanks asserted.
