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Jet, Dec 20, 1999

Stevie Wonder and Judith Jamison were among five recipients of the Kennedy Center Honors at the 22nd annual national celebration of the arts in Washington, D.C.-the last ceremony of the century.

Comedian and pianist Victor Borge, and actors Sean Connery and Jason Robards were also honored.

The awards, which recognize the honorees' lifetime contributions to American culture through the performing arts, dance, music, theater, opera, motion pictures or television, were presented the night before the Kennedy Center Gala at a State Department dinner hosted by Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

In a ceremony at the White House on the evening of the annual Honors Gala, President Clinton and Mrs. Clinton welcomed the honorees.

President Clinton said of music genius Stevie Wonder, "Over the past 30 years, as he has composed and performed songs, Stevie has also helped to make Dr. King's birthday into a national holiday, to tear down the walls of apartheid, to alleviate hunger, to stem youth violence; and, in so many other ways to compose the remaining passages of Dr. King's unfinished symphony."

Coretta Scott King also gave Wonder heartfelt accolades for his support of her late husband's dream over the years.

"My family and I will always be grateful for Stevie Wonder's leadership by inspiring many to make my husband's birthday a national holiday," said King.

"We just called you here today to say `we love you'," actress Halle Berry, chimed in.

Smokey Robinson, Take 6, Diane Schuur, an all-star jazz band and the Morgan State University Choir, all directed by Herbie Hancock, paid a musical tribute to Wonder. Tears of a Clown (co-written by Wonder), I Wish, Very Superstitious and You Are the Sunshine of My Life were among the songs performed by the artists.

"Judith Jamison has always sought new ways to stretch and extend herself, and those around her," said President Clinton. "She has preserved Alvin Ailey's legacy while creating transcendent new works, cultivating a new generation of stars ..."

In a tribute to their leader, dancer Dwana Adiah Smallwood performed Right On, Be Free, from Cry, the epic 1971 solo Ailey created especially for Jamison, and members of the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater Company performed Rocka My Soul in the Bosom of Abraham.

Dancing with Mikhail Baryshnikov, heading the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and starring on Broadway in Sophisticated Ladies are only a few of her dynamic accomplishments. Jamison has earned a place in history as one of this century's most individualistic and beloved dancers.

Closing out the evening of honors, those onstage and in the audience joined together to sing (under the direction of Quincy Jones) We are the World, an anthem co-written and performed by Wonder and other artists to raise funds to fight world hunger.