NewsHour Backgrounders
June 25, 1998:
A NewsHour interview with the new head of the NEA, Willliam Ivey.
March 31, 1998:
The Supreme Court hears arguments in the case of the NEA vs. Finley.
February 6, 1998:
An Online Forum explores to benefits and pitfalls of corporate sponsorship of the arts.
Browse the NewsHour's coverage of Arts & Entertainment.
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A question from Rev. Robert C. Palmer, Sr. of Ponca City, OK:
Funding requests are submitted to your agency for projects located in certain communities. Would you agree that "decency" is a relative concept? Why not let those communities decide whether a project is "decent"?
William Ivey answers:
I would say that in a pluralistic society like ours, "decency" can mean different
things to different people. One of this country's greatest assets
is the broad diversity of its people, and that diversity takes many
forms: geographic, racial, ethnic, religious, and intellectual, to
name a few. The law requires that we take decency into account when
making grants, and we do so by assembling application review panels
that are broadly representative of the diversity of the American people.
Panelists come from different geographic regions, and represent different
racial, ethnic, religious, and educational backgrounds. Together they
hold views of decency that represent the views of a cross-section
of the American public.
Since we are a national agency, and since many of our grants have multi-state and national significance, it is appropriate that recommendations to fund specific proposals be made at a national level and not only at a local level. Numerous decisions about the allocation of NEA funds continue to be made at the state and local levels as well, since 40 per cent of our program funds go to the state arts agencies who, in turn, determine their use. The debate over "decency" has taught us a great deal, and it has encouraged us to serve as many communities as possible -- including the culturally conservative as well as the avant-garde.
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