::THE SLICE REPORT WITH MONA AUSTIN

buzzz worthy. . . WASHINGTON, DC – On Thursday morning, September 22, 2016, President Obama will award the 2015 National Medal of Arts and the National Humanities Medal to distinguished recipients in the East Room. The First Lady will also attend. The National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities were established by Congress in 1965 as independent agencies of the federal government. To date, the NEA has awarded more than $5 billion to support artistic excellence, creativity, and innovation for the benefit of individuals and communities. Through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector, the NEA supports arts learning, affirms and celebrates America’s rich and diverse cultural heritage, and extends its work to promote equal access to the arts in every community across America. The National Endowment for the Humanities brings the best in humanities research, public programs, educat...

buzzz worthy. . . On August 6, 1965 Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson passed the Voting Rights Act with every race in mind.  By then, suffrage, or the right to vote, was granted to both men and women of all races. The Voting rights Act was established to prohibit discrimination against minotiry groups where various ballot blocking methods were more rampant. Fifty years ago the  VRA was passed with overwhelming support from both chambers. The States House of Representatives voted 333 to 48 and the Senate 77 to 19. Two years ago House Republicans struck down the law.  In 2013, the Supreme Court of the United States followed suit, striking down section 5 of the VRA on the basis it was out-dated. 

buzzz worthy. . . As Americans, we believe that everyone who works hard deserves a chance at opportunity, and that all our citizens deserve some basic measure of security. And so, 50 years ago, President Johnson declared a War on Poverty to help each and every American fulfill his or her basic hopes. We created new avenues of opportunity through jobs and education, expanded access to health care for seniors, the poor, and Americans with disabilities, and helped working families make ends meet. Without Social Security, nearly half of seniors would be living in poverty. Today, fewer than one in seven do. Before Medicare, only half of seniors had some form of health insurance. Today, virtually all do. And because we expanded pro-work and pro-family programs like the Earned Income Tax Credit, a recent study found that the poverty rate has fallen by nearly 40% since the 1960s, and kept millions from falling into poverty during the Great Recession. These endeavors didn’t just ma...