{"id":6754,"date":"2013-05-08T12:28:19","date_gmt":"2013-05-08T17:28:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/?p=6754"},"modified":"2013-07-07T19:16:58","modified_gmt":"2013-07-08T00:16:58","slug":"delta-blues-museum-to-receive-national-medal-for-museum-and-library-service-today-in-white-house-ceremony","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/delta-blues-museum-to-receive-national-medal-for-museum-and-library-service-today-in-white-house-ceremony\/","title":{"rendered":"Delta Blues Museum to Receive National Medal for Museum and Library Service Today in White House Ceremony"},"content":{"rendered":"

Celebration Featuring First Lady Michelle Obama Highlights Impact of Mississippi Museum<\/em><\/span><\/h1>\n

This afternoon, in a White House ceremony in the East Room, First Lady Michelle Obama<\/strong> will join Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Director Susan Hildreth<\/strong> to present the 2013 National Medal for Museum and Library Service to Delta Blues Museum<\/strong>. The nation\u2019s highest honor conferred on museums and libraries for service to the community, the National Medal celebrates institutions that make a difference for individuals, families, and communities. Shelley Ritter<\/strong>, Delta Blues Museum\u2019s executive director and community member Travis Calvin<\/strong> will accept the National Medal.<\/span><\/p>\n

A challenging neighborhood was the driving force behind Travis Calvin\u2019s mom signing up her five children for the museum\u2019s Arts and Education Program as a safe and positive place to go after school. Initially serving as a refuge to keep the children off the streets, the program evolved into something much more significant \u2013 a place for developing talented blues musicians in the Calvin family. Travis chose the guitar when he was 8 years old, and through classes at the museum, has come to master it. Student has become teacher, and now, he helps other children discover and enjoy this truly American art form. Poised to graduate next month with a Bachelor of Science in Music Industry Studies, Travis reflects, “I wouldn\u2019t be where I am today and pursuing my current career path had I not signed up for\u00a0the Arts and Education Program<\/em>\u00a015 years ago. The museum provided me with invaluable opportunities to begin playing music at a young age.”<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMuseums and libraries serve as centers for lifelong learning and as cornerstones for our communities. Not only is the Delta Blues Museum celebrating one of our country\u2019s most fundamental genres of music, but they\u2019re educating the next blues greats. We are proud to name Delta Blues Museum one of this year\u2019s National Medal for Museum and Library Service winners,\u201d said Susan Hildreth, director, Institute of Museum and Library Services.<\/span><\/p>\n

This year\u2019s 10 honorees<\/a>\u00a0exemplify the nation\u2019s great diversity of libraries and museums and include a science center, children\u2019s museum, music museum, art museum, cultural museum, public libraries, and county library systems, hailing from seven states. The 2013 National Medal for Museum and Library Service Ceremony will be streamed live on\u00a0www.whitehouse.gov\/live<\/a>\u00a0beginning at 1:30 p.m. EDT.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis award will shine well-deserved attention on the Delta Blues Museum and the important musical and cultural influences the blues have had on our nation. I am proud of this museum and Mississippi for presenting the soul of the blues to the world,\u201d said U.S. Senator Thad Cochran<\/strong> (Miss.).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMississippi has a rich and storied legacy as the birthplace of the blues,\u201d said U.S. Senator Roger Wicker<\/strong> (Miss.). \u201cThe Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale takes great pride in preserving our unique musical heritage and sharing it with the world. The National Medal for Museum and Library Service award is a testament to the museum\u2019s outstanding work. I congratulate the Mississippians who have ensured our state\u2019s role in American music is recognized and honored.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere could not be a more fitting institution than our very own Delta Blues Museum to receive this honor. The Museum reflects the deep history and culture of Mississippi. It not only plays a vital role in our community, but our nation. Libraries and museums fuel the imagination and the intellect. The museum will continue to serve as a destination for visitors from across our state and the world,\u201d said U.S. Representative Bennie Thompson (Miss.).<\/span><\/p>\n

Medal winners are selected from nationwide nominations of institutions that demonstrate innovative approaches to public service, exceeding the expected levels of community outreach. Later this year, StoryCorps \u2013 a national nonprofit dedicated to recording, preserving, and sharing the stories of Americans \u2013 will visit Delta Blues Museum to document stories from the community.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Celebration Featuring First Lady Michelle Obama Highlights Impact of Mississippi Museum This afternoon, in a White House ceremony<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7307,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[1410,1414,265,1411,1415,1413,1412],"class_list":["post-6754","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","tag-delta-blues-museum","tag-michelle-obama","tag-roger-wicker","tag-shelley-ritter","tag-susan-hildreth","tag-thad-cochran","tag-travis-calvin"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Delta-Blues-Museum-in-Clarksdale-Mississippi-38614.jpg?fit=645%2C427&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6754","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6754"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6754\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7307"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}