By Tom McClimon
April 6, 2009

“The arts are a form of nonviolent social change,” declared long'time civil rights leader and Congressman John Lewis (GA) who was honored with the 2009 National Award for Congressional Arts Leadership by Americans for the Arts and The United States Conference of Mayors. The award, which recognizes distinguished service on behalf of the arts, was presented at the 2009 Congressional Arts Breakfast on Capitol Hill. The breakfast kicks off Arts Advocacy Day each year.

Lewis was selected for the Congressional Arts Leadership Award for his life'long commitment to the arts. A civil rights icon, Lewis is fond of saying, “Without the arts, the civil rights movement would have been like a bird without wings.” Lewis was honored for his tireless efforts on behalf of a touchstone piece of legislation that he introduced – The Artist'Museum Partnership Act, which would allow artists to claim a fair'market value tax deduction when donating their work to nonprofit institutions, preserving works of local, regional and national significance for the public to enjoy.

Previous recipients of the Congressional Arts Leadership Award include: Senator Patrick Leahy (VT), Senator Ted Kennedy (MA), Congressman Norm Dicks (WA) and Congresswoman Louise Slaughter (NY).

Held each year to coincide with the yearly appropriations cycle on Capitol Hill, Arts Advocacy Day brings together national groups representing thousands of arts, entertainment, education, and policy leaders in a united forum in support of federal funding for the arts, humanities, and arts education. Artists participating this year were Josh Groban, GRAMMY'nominated singer'songwriter, Linda Ronstadt, GRAMMY'award winning vocalist and entertainer, and Wynton Marsalis, world'renowned trumpeter, composer and Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center.