Michael Barnard, producing artistic director of Phoenix Theatre, was recently honored as an Ellis Island Medal of Honor recipient. Here in New York Harbor, 12 million immigrants entering Ellis Island sought the rewards of America from 1892 to 1954. As described by the Honor Society, “The Ellis Island Medals of Honor embody the spirit of America in their salute to tolerance, brotherhood, diversity and patriotism. Barnard’s paternal grandmother came through Ellis Island just before the Nazi occupation of France in 1941. His grandfather helped found Glendale with Senator Carl Hayden. Others include former Vice President Joe Biden, former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Nobel laureates Elie Wiesel and Malala Yousafzai, Coretta Scott King, John Sculley, Muhammad Ali, Lee Iacocca and Rosa Parks. “[The arts] help make us strong, individually and together,” Barnard says. “They offer innovative, evocative ways to build acceptance, hope and tolerance.”
