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[Applause]
well good morning everyone nice and cool

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in here um thank you for joining us for
the 2016 National medal for Museum and

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Library Services award ceremony the
national medal is our nation's highest

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honor for libraries and museums and
today we recognize the extraordinary

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work of 10 outstanding museums and
libraries from across the nation and we

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also celebrate the valuable role that
these institutions and all museums and

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all libraries play in our communities
they are true catalysts and in their own

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way each of these 10 have made a
difference leaving their surrounding

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neighborhoods and communities better
because of their presence and

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Outreach this year's medalists include a
museum dedicated to sharing the history

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and culture of indigenous people a
library that has transformed its

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services to meet the needs of large
immigrant

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populations so much so that it's been
dubbed La bibla Milagro hasser the

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miracle making Library I love that
phrase an academic library that has

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become a gateway to knowledge for its
community and its partners and a science

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museum that has promoted Hands-On
science interaction as part of a country

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play Ed by high poverty low achievement
scores and dwindling

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resources we are honored to be able to
work with all of our medal winners and

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we salute them each and every one of you
for the services that they provide every

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day this 22nd this is the 22nd year of
the national medal ceremony and we are

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proud to have the members of the
National Museum and Library Services

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board with us today our board members
are unique in that they bring passion

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and Leadership to The Institute of
Museum and Library Services Mission and

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they help strengthen the educational and
cultural life of our country they play

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an integral role in helping us to select
our national medal winners and we're

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very grateful for their service could I
ask our board members to stand

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please

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thank you thank you so much for your
dedication and support we also know that

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behind our winners behind each one of
them as a dedicated team some of whom

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are here today with us I'd like to
recognize the board members and public

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officials who have traveled here in
support of Our Winning institutions

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would you please stand any board members
and public thank

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you
[Applause]

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I'd also like to recognize our partner
in chronicling the story of our medalist

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story Corp story Corp is a national
nonprofit dedicated to recording

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preserving and sharing the stories
Across America they will visit each

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winning institution to document the
stories from the community since 2010

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story Corp has conducted more than a
thousand National medal interviews in

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communities across the country and all
of the interviews are preserved at the

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American folk Life Center at the Library
of Congress today we have with us Miss

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Robert Sparkman the CEO of story Corp
Robin are

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[Applause]

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you finally I'd like to recognize a
group of people who have worked very

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hard to make this day possible through
many many hours of hard work reviewing

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nominations setting up review panels and
then liaising with our finalists and our

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winners this fall imls will kick off
celebrations for its 20th anniversary

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and we have been able to support museums
and libraries for so many years because

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of a hardworking lean and mean
contingent of employees so please join

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me in thanking and recognizing our
dedicated employees at

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[Applause]
[Music]

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imls so my final thought I'd like to
leave you with today is this this year's

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winners represent all the libraries and
museums around the country who are

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committed to providing truly engaging
experiences for their communities

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however you define Community they are in
many cases our community's Anon heroes

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in preparing for today's ceremony we
encourage community members from

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locations representing our 30 30
finalists to share their story stories

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on social media of how their local
institutions have impacted their lives

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the results were heartwarming and
astounding hundreds of stories poured in

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from Americans young and old all eager
to share the story of how a local

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library or Museum had opened doors to
powerful and even life-changing

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experiences so today we honor these 10
institutions but I encourage you all to

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continue to support the work of
libraries and museums across the country

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just like those we recognize today and
now our next guest has been a true

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champion of museums and library and the
critical role that they play as

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catalysts for Community engagement
revitalization and

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sustainability she has also graciously
hosted this ceremony for many years and

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so it's my distinct pleasure and honor
to introduce Mrs Michelle Obama the

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first lady of the United States
[Applause]

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[Music]

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thank you all thanks so

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much you all rest yourselves thank you
welcome welcome to the White House um as

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we award for the 2016 National medals
for Museum and Library Service uh I want

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to start by thanking Katherine uh for
that wonderful introduction and for her

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extraordinary leadership as well as
everyone from The Institute of Museum

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and Library Services uh I know she gave
out all the accolades before I came out

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but I want to join in uh and and thank
everyone for their hard work their

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continuous hard work their dedication
and their passion for this issue

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uh and of course I want to recognize our
10 incredible awardees and community

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members who've come here today from all
across the country uh you all are doing

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such inspiring Innovative and impactful
work and we are incredibly proud of

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everything you all have been doing so uh
enjoy enjoy this moment and don't be

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nervous I know it's hard to be in this
room and hear that but yeah they're all

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like yeah yeah you can do it you're
going to make it up these stairs just

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fine uh and I have to tell you someone
who lives in a mum and whose husband

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will soon be opening uh a m a library
himself as you all have heard uh I've

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been thinking a lot about uh what you
all do and I've celebrated this event

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with you uh a number of times over the
years and ALT together since 2009 imls

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has recognized 80 museums and libraries
in 32 states and as we honor your

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accomplishments today during my family's
last year in the white house uh when

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we're just beginning to reflect back on
our time here uh I am struck by how

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important your work has been for so many
of our efforts these past seven and a

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half years um as I've said time and time
again when we first got to the White

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House one of our goals was to make sure
that we opened up the doors to this

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house as wide as possible to folks from
all different backgrounds particularly

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to young people who would normally have
the chance to come into a space like

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this and we've tried to uh showcase as
many Great American art forms and

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cultural legacies as possible if you've
been keeping up uh over the years we've

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hosted performances and workshops on
everything from Broadway musicals this

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room has been converted in so many ways
we've had a Broadway stage here with uh

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kids and performers singing and dancing
everything to Jazz and and country music

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to spoken word poetry uh not just
Hamilton yes they performed right here

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but other spoken word artists as well
and the fact is that your work and the

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work of libraries and museums across the
country has actually help make so many

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of these events possible whether you
understand how you've done that or not

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time and time again it's our nation's
libraries and museums who've sparked the

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imaginations and encouraged the interest
of so many of our nation's most

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accomplished authors and performers and
I'm thinking of the great writers who

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basically took up residence in their
Library when they were growing up or the

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great artists who were inspired by an
amazing exhibit they saw when they were

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a kid uh and this isn't just true for
the kinds of folks who perform at the

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white house uh we've heard this from so
many people whose lives have been

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affected uh by a great book or a
powerful piece of art M included uh that

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has transformed the way they see the
world and the way they see themselves

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that's how we know that in so many
communities our libraries and museums

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don't just preserve and promote our
cultural Treasures they also enrich uh

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and enlarge our lives uh and that's
really one of the most powerful things

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that you all do each and every day this
year's incredible awardees are a

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testament to that truth uh just take the
example of a Lynn Meadows Discovery

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Center for Children in gulport
Mississippi I understand that when local

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leaders and community members came
together almost 20 years ago to create

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their State's very first Children's
Museum they were determined to directly

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engage every kid and family in the
region so they restored a vacant School

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building and after they opened the
exhibits they also set up Summer acting

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camps and music workshops and family
cooking classes and anything that would

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bring the community in uh and when
Hurricane Katrina washed away the entire

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first floor they didn't get discouraged
uh because they knew that their

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Community needed them more than ever uh
instead they rolled up their sleeves and

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they cleaned up the damage and reopened
even more determined to carry out that

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mission and if you want to know the kind
of impact they're having on young people

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in their Community I just want you to
consider the story of a young man who I

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just met briefly uh Brandon span um
Brandon where are you oh there you are

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you're right before my very
eyes the handsome young Brandon first

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showed up to the Discovery Center as
part of a summer Boys and Girls Club

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program and he was a shy I understand
sixth grader uh who wasn't that excited

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about school at the
time but then they got him on stage and

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everything changed all of a sudden you
couldn't help but notice

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Brandon because he was a star in the
theater I wish you were performing today

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but we're not going to force you to do
that and then he turned that stardom

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into being a star in the classroom
and last week Brandon became the first

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member of his family to graduate from
high school

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[Applause]
[Music]

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[Applause]
[Music]

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congratulations and he's going to be the
first member of his family to attend

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college as he pursues a degree in
drama

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[Music]

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yeah I just love those stories and
there's a story like that uh with every

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one of these uh awardees that's the kind
of impact our museums can have and

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that's the story of so many of our
libraries as well um another one of

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today's award is the Brooklyn Public
Library is a perfect

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example they're one of the largest
Library systems in America with 60

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branches uh almost 4 million books and
periodicals and nearly 9 million guests

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last year alone uh and they have hosted
tens of thousands of public events to

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reach Folks at local senior centers and
homeless shelters to provide literacy

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programs for new readers and young
children and to mobilize a network of

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2,000 volunteers who provide everything
from computer courses to citizenship

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classes now some of us might not think
of a library as a place to take a course

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on
citizenship uh but luckily for a woman

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named Kim best
someone else who I met very giggly Kim

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right there that's exactly how the
Brooklyn Library System uh worked for

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her see Kim's family arrived in this
country from Guyana in

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1981 the year I went to
college but uh it took over 30 years for

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her to realize that even after her
mother was naturalized Kim wasn't a

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citizen herself fortunately Kim had
grown up in the Brooklyn Public Library

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system so as soon as she found out they
offered classes she signed right up she

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spent weeks drilling the questions with
her teacher and classmates and last

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October Kim became one of our newest
Americans and she is here with us today

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proud

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beautiful Kim is also the mother of a
10-year-old son named Ibrahim who wants

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to be an engineer when he grows up I
understand and Kim knows that he can't

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achieve that because these are her words
this is what she said she said I know

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the library is here for him just like
it's always been there for me good

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stuff day after day year after year our
Nations libraries and museums are here

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for our communities and at the end of
the day you all don't measure your

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impact by the number of books on your
shelves or pieces in your exhibits by by

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the young people you inspire uh the
lives you transform and the impact you

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have every single day on your
communities so to all of our awardees

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here today and to libraries and museums
across the country uh I again and for

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the last time in this official role I
thank you all I thank you all so very

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much for everything you do uh I am proud
of you all individually I'm proud of the

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work that these Institution tions do in
our country uh and I can't wait to see

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everything else you continue to achieve
in the years ahead so don't get

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tired we need you working so with that
let's get to the awards thank you all so

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much and God

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bless first we have Brooklyn Public
Library of Brooklyn New York the fifth

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largest library system in the United
States serving 2.5 million residents

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accepting the award for Brooklyn Public
life Library are president and chief

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executive officer Linda E Johnson and
Community member Kim

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[Music]
best Brooklyn Public Library is known

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for its robust Outreach Services for all
ages and stages of life including new

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Americans today 46% of brooklynites over
age five speak a language other than

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English and 50% of Brooklyn households
speak speak a foreign language to best

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serve the changing Community the library
has become focused on transitional

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programs targeted at these populations
materials about citizenship are

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available in all 60 branches as well as
services to Aid with test preparation

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for citizenship courses collections can
be found in over 126 languages and

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English as a second language classes
serves some 650 students annually these

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offerings are what Community member Kim
best credits for her successful

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completion of the official citizenship
test saying that Brooklyn Public Library

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gave her the confidence to

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excel Columbia Museum of Art of Colombia
South Carolina is revitalizing the city

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center and redefining the art museum as
a bustling Social Hub of its Community

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accepting the award for the Columbia
Museum of Art are executive director

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Karen broches and Community member Joyce
Rose

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Harris poet and social political
activist Joyce Rose Harris joined the

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Columbia Museum of Art the first day she
walked in for Joyce the museum spoke to

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her immediately and F avoid it offered a
connection to a poet community that she

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had struggled to find since moving 7
years earlier and a source of

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inspiration for her writing in fact her
first two published poems were responses

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to the Columbia Museum of Art Exhibit
chemistry of color she loves attending

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the Museum's wide- ranging collections
programs and exhibitions and has shared

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her poems at the Museum standing next to
the work that inspired them Joyce says

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there hasn't been another place
artistically within South Carolina that

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has had as much of an impact on me and
my

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art
when Lyn Meadow's Discovery Center for

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Children of gulport Mississippi opened
its doors in 1998 it was Mississippi's

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first Children's Museum since then the
institution has remained dedicated to

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expanding a child's world through shared
learning experiences accepting the award

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for the ly medals Discovery Center for
Children Are executive director Cindy

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def Francis and Community member Brandon

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span

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keeping in mind the significant high
school dropout rate in Mississippi the

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ly medals Discovery Center for Children
developed the wings performing arts

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program in order to extend reach beyond
the center and into the local schools as

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part of the program the staff works with
families to draw up contracts that work

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to ensure the students commitment to
education the contract's goal is to

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prioritize schoolwork through the wings
Performing Arts program if grades drop

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or problems arise the child must take a
temporary break from the program Brandon

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span has been a part of this program
since he was 11 years old and credits it

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for his successful graduation from high
school last

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[Music]
week Madison Public Library of Madison

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Wisconsin has been a steward for
Education literacy and Community

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involvement for more than 140 years
connecting visitors to programs and

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services Community Resources and each
other accepting the award for the

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Madison Public Library are Library
director Greg Michaels and Community

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member Rob

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Franklin rapper and spoken word hipop
artist Rob Franklin left his job and

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moved to Madison to focus on his music
but it didn't take long for him to

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exhaust all Financial cial options he
took odd jobs and spent full days at

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Madison Public Library searching for
ways to continue pursuing his passion

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the library's artists and residents
introduced him to the free classes and

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equipment at the libraries media lab
where Rob was able to make his dream a

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reality recording music creating music
videos and designing posters in album

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artwork after mastering the offerings of
the media lab he began volunteering to

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provide media instruction to local
students and expanding Outreach to an

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atrisk youth at nearby Juvenile
Detention Center he taught audio

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engineering and video production classes
providing access to technology that

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otherwise would be unavailable to the
children Rob says being able to bring

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joy and self-expression to kids who've
lived tough lives is bigger than any

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record I could ever

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[Music]
sell Mid America Science Museum of Hot

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Springs Arkansas is an award-winning
state-of-the-arts Science Museum and

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home to over 100 Hands-On science
installations it is Arkansas's only

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Smithsonian affiliate accepting the
award for the mid- America Science

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Museum are executive director Diane
lafallet and Community member Casey

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Wy after graduating college Casey Wy
took a position at mid- America Science

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Museum where she had volunteered in her
youth at the Museum she brought

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Innovative science programming to
children at 15 schools across Arkansas

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including low-income schools where
children had experienced minimal

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exposure to science until joining the
museum staff Casey had been

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disillusioned by the education system
but she credits working at Mid America

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science museum with reigniting her
passion for teaching she is now a fifth

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grade science teacher pursuing a
master's degree in teaching and she has

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brought the museum s approach to
teaching science in the classroom with

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her her every day Casey shares if I
hadn't been at the mid America Science

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Museum I never would have become a
teacher the experience of being a

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Hands-On educator at the Museum
reawakened my passion for working with

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children and helping them make

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[Music]
discoveries North Carolina State

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University libraries of Raleigh North
Carolina serves as a gateway to

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knowledge for the local community and
its Partners accepting the award for

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North Carolina State University
libraries are Vice provos and executive

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director of libraries Susan Nutter and
Community member Mara

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Gordon after 14 years of teaching at
North Carolina State University Mara

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Gordon was able to breathe new life into
her approach to class research projects

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by pairing with NCSU libraries in their
cuttingedge technology such as their

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large-scale digital interactive displays
NCSU new Hunt Library resources and

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staff emboldened her to begin assigning
multimedia projects to her film studies

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graduate classes for the shooting Wars
project students brought moving images

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archival material audio and text to the
screen for an engaging presentation

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about the nature of American military
conflicts the project provided an

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amazing learning experience for the
great University and public audiences

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she is now on her fifth multimedia
project working with the librarian and

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its resources Marsha says the North
Carolina State University libraries have

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really thought about what it means to be
a 21st century Library it's a perfect

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combination of offerings that help
students learn and express intellectual

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and creative

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[Applause]
[Music]

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flexibility founded in 1850 Otis library
of Norwich Connecticut sits in the heart

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of downtown serving as a community
center and a collaborative engaged

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partner accepting the award for Otis
Library are executive director Bob

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00:25:12.880 --> 00:25:17.480
Farwell and Community member Bassam

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gayed when Bassam GED moved to the
United States from Egypt to be with his

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00:25:27.520 --> 00:25:31.279
wife wife he began frequenting the
library learning everything he could

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about American culture and history he
credits the library's free comprehensive

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citizenship Resources with preparing him
for the test to become a US citizen

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Bassam also took a reference test job at
the library working with people a few

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hours a week and after several years was
appointed the Multicultural services

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coordinator because he was the sole
Spanish speaking employee and understood

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the Immigrant experience he was able to
develop targeted programs services and

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materials to help other immigrants
adjust to life in the US and flourish

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the way he had he made foreign language
material easily accessible for children

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and adults expanded the library
offerings and focused on helping

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American Born Library users better
understand World cultures Bassam notes

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at the library if we teach kids from a
young age about other cultures that

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there are other people who think live
and worship this way it makes a

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difference it makes a better world

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[Music]
Santa Ana public library of Santa Ana

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California has served the community for
125 years supporting the area's large

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00:26:40.799 --> 00:26:45.760
immigrant population and Bridging the
digital divide accepting the award for

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00:26:45.760 --> 00:26:50.640
the Santa Ana public library are
director Heather fulmar and Community

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member Victor

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goodel

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when his family was homeless Victor
gel's trip to Santa Ana public library

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00:27:04.240 --> 00:27:09.120
for a youth group introduced him to a
special Community from that night on he

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00:27:09.120 --> 00:27:13.000
was hooked on the library soon going
almost every day after school

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00:27:13.000 --> 00:27:17.320
befriending the kind Library staff and
taking a part-time job there for the

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00:27:17.320 --> 00:27:22.159
duration of high school the library
encouraged him to try new things helped

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with his homework and was vital in
showing him how to apply for college and

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00:27:26.080 --> 00:27:31.039
financial aid participating in the
library C to trees digital media which

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00:27:31.039 --> 00:27:35.240
teaches digital literacy Victor
discovered his passion for Film

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00:27:35.240 --> 00:27:41.279
Production he is now studying production
at UC Santa Cruz Victor says I didn't

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00:27:41.279 --> 00:27:45.200
think I was going to go to college that
wasn't a reality until I started coming

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to the library it exposed me to a lot of
things and what I want to do with my

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life the Chicago History Museum of
Chicago Illinois is the city's oldest

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cultural institution and has served as a
hub of scholarship and learning

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00:28:04.440 --> 00:28:09.200
inspiration and Civic engagement for
more than a century accepting the award

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00:28:09.200 --> 00:28:14.279
for the Chicago History Museum are
president Gary T Johnson and Community

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member Joyce

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[Music]

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Chu Joyce Chu a first generation
American in college graduate spent as

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long as she can remember in her father's
local bakery in Chicago's Chinatown

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neighborhood watching the community come
together share stories and talk Politics

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the culture of Chinatown particularly
the strong connection between the

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00:28:41.640 --> 00:28:46.080
Chinese community and food was brought
to life when the Chicago History Museum

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interviewed her and her father for the
my Chinatown exhibit spotlighting local

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00:28:50.640 --> 00:28:56.320
Chinese Chicagoans the exhibit gave her
a unique lens into her own family's

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history while helping others in Chicago
better understand the culture and

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Heritage of the Chinese Community the
project was conducted around the time of

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a devastating fire at a local Chinese
Museum so the exhibit not only reached a

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00:29:09.559 --> 00:29:13.760
new audience but it also filled an
unfortunate Gap like left by the

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destroyed artifacts Joyce says it's
meaningful that the my Chinatown exhibit

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00:29:18.880 --> 00:29:22.679
is able to preserve the stories of our
parents and grandparents for future

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Generations so they can get a glimpse of
what it was like to be one of the first

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groups of Chinese Americans to immigrate
to the

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[Applause]
[Music]

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city tomama quag Museum of exitor Rhode
Island is the state's only Native

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00:29:39.200 --> 00:29:43.760
American Museum empowering indigenous
people and serving as a bridge to

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00:29:43.760 --> 00:29:47.880
promote better understanding of the
Native community's needs history and

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00:29:47.880 --> 00:29:53.240
culture accepting the award for Tama
quag Museum are executive director

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00:29:53.240 --> 00:29:58.750
Lauren Spears and Community member
Christian Hopkins

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00:29:58.750 --> 00:30:08.559
[Music]

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recent college graduate Christian
Hopkins found his Direction at tomaquag

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00:30:13.360 --> 00:30:18.919
Museum growing up he worked as a dosent
attended classes tutored Youth and

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became heavily involved in an narran at
performance art Farms including flute

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00:30:23.840 --> 00:30:28.600
drums and dance christien was empowered
by the educ ational programming and

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00:30:28.600 --> 00:30:33.600
cultural dialogue the museum offered
learning about his Naran culture and

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00:30:33.600 --> 00:30:38.559
getting involved inspired him to embrace
his identity as a member of the tribe he

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00:30:38.559 --> 00:30:43.200
credits the museum for helping him find
acceptance and pride in his cultural

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heritage and helping him to flourish he
grew to be a champion Eastern War dancer

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00:30:48.159 --> 00:30:52.600
and became invested in the history of
his tribe he hopes one day to make films

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00:30:52.600 --> 00:30:56.919
that Spotlight and share the narraganset
culture and history with the public

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00:30:56.919 --> 00:31:01.720
Chris Christian says tomama quag played
a huge role in my life it instilled a

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00:31:01.720 --> 00:31:06.360
strong sense of Pride and without it I
wouldn't be on the course I am graduated

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00:31:06.360 --> 00:31:13.980
from college and looking at graduate
[Applause]

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00:31:13.980 --> 00:31:17.279
[Music]

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school

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well I think that's all we

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00:31:33.679 --> 00:31:42.120
have but uh for my my final uh ceremony
with you all uh it is uh just been a

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00:31:42.120 --> 00:31:46.120
great pleasure uh to get to know you to
get to know your

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00:31:46.120 --> 00:31:50.440
institutions uh to be able to shine a
big bright light on the work that you do

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00:31:50.440 --> 00:31:56.639
uh and the amazing community members
whose stories uh really bring home uh

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the Imp impact and relevance that that
you have on so many uh so I I just urge

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you all to keep up the great work uh it
is so desperately needed your

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institutions are a place for people to
come and as I said find their voices to

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find inspiration and sometimes it's the
only institutions they have in a

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community so uh uh please please keep up
the great work and to everyone out there

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continue to support these institutions
they are the lifeblood of this country

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so with that I'm going to leave you um I
wish you all a wonderful day stay cool

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uh and and again God bless you all take
[Music]

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you