Fight back against Donald Trump’s proposal to eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts

Communities across America have a stake in the arts, including our own. According to Americans for the Arts, 4.8 million Americans go to work in arts and culture industries. Additionally, the arts generate $22.3 billion in federal, state and local government revenue.

The arts and humanities have impacted my life in ways that I could not imagine. I have been drawing practically all my life. I remember, around the age of nine, I used to be a member of the Boys & Girls Club. I was taking a painting course one day and painted the Las Vegas skyline. Many peers gathered around to look at it, and most of them wanted one for themselves. In that moment, I realized the ripple effect that arts and crafts had on the human spirit and soul. From that point, I realized the arts were my life.

The major driver of arts initiatives across the country is the National Endowment for the Arts. The NEA is the federal agency whose funding and support gives Americans the opportunity to participate in the arts.

In 2016 alone, the NEA recommended more than 2,400 grants in nearly 16,000 communities in every congressional district in the country. What’s more, 40 percent of NEA-supported activities take place in high-poverty neighborhoods. The NEA has been able to do all these things and more on a meager budget of $148 million.

President Trump’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2018 calls for an elimination of the NEA, in addition to other cultural agencies such as the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Please don’t believe those dusty, old arguments about eliminating these cultural agencies because it would reduce the deficit or the size of government. We simply cannot afford to cut back on our federal investment in the arts and culture.