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XIII.) AU Gives Award to Congressman for Defending NEA. 1.
The
issue raised in this brief section of our BJC flyer is that according to
Americans United (an organization founded primarily by the BJC and where Dunn
serves on the 15 member board of trustees), efforts to restrict the NEA funding
of depraved “art” is a church/state issue.
Mr. Tichenor attempts to cover up this issue by instead arguing that the
BJC cannot be held accountable for the things AU does.
He states: “Neither James Dunn nor the BJC gave an award to Rep. Pat
Williams. Dunn is not responsible
for the awards given by Americans United. The
BJC has no responsibility for awards presented by AU.”
Congressman Pat Williams was the recipient of AU’s 1990 Madison-Jefferson
Award in part “for defending the National Endowment for the Arts against
charges that it has funded ‘sacrilegious’ works of Art.” (Church and State, Nov. 1990,
pgs. 4-5) 2.
The
significance of this section is that according to AU and the recipient of AU’s
highest award, the Madison-Jefferson Award,
the controversy over Congressional efforts to restrict the content of art funded
by the National Endowment for the Arts is a religious liberty, church/state
issue. In this regard, the
BJC is indeed fulfilling its job assignment when it engage in
pro-federal-funding-for-the-arts activities. (Church and State, November,
1990, pp. 4-5. See
page 9 of our BJCPA flyer) 3.
People
for the American Way, another of the BJC’s closest allies (PAW president
Carole Shields serves on the BJC board of directors) is also a strong supporter
of federal funding for the Arts. (See
section IX.5) PAW was also
one of the participating organizations of the Free
Expression Briefing
(See section
XI.2)
as well as the How to Win
manual.
(See section IX)
Numerous PAW board members and staff members serve on the governing board
of AU. |