[applause] >> jack whitten.plause] the 2015 national medal of arts to jack whitten for remaking the american canvas. as an abstract artist, he uses casting, acrylic paints, and compounds to create new surfaces and textures, challenging our perceptions of shape and color. his powerful works of art put the american story in a new light. [applause] [laughter] >> i can make up the citation. >> let's do that. let's do that, sir. >> you don't have it in there? >> no, sir. >> here we go. [laughter] >> audra mcdonald. [cheers and applause] the 2015 national medal of arts for audra mcdonald for lighting up broadway as one of its brightest stars. an unforgettable performer, she has won six tony awards. in musicals, concerts, operas, and the recording studio, her rich, soulful voice continues to take her audiences to new heights. [applause] >> national humanities medal recipients. rudolfo anaya. [applause] the 2015 national humanities medal to rudolfo anaya for his pioneering stories of the american southwest. his works of

jack whitten. isabel wilkerson.wynton marsalis, who unfortunately could not make it here today, and morgan freeman, who undoubtedly is off playing a black president again [laughter] [applause] he never lets me have my moment. he's always, like -- [laughter] all of today's honorees work in an age where the stories we tell and the technologies that we use to tell them are more diverse than ever before, and as diverse as the country that we love. every human being has hundreds of separate people living inside his skin. it echoes what whitman once wrote about america, that we are large, containing multitudes. it's what's so great about this country -- that there is no single, set way to contribute. all of us belong. all of us have a story to tell. even when you think your story is too different, too strange, too unique, there's someone out there who's been waiting their whole life to hear you tell your story, because it's just like theirs. what a great gift all of you have given us. so today, we thank you, today's honor