Kennedy Center Revises Way Honorees Are Selected

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Kennedy Center is unveiling a new process to select artists who receive one of the nation's top arts prizes after an outside group said Latinos have been largely excluded.

Under a revised process announced Thursday, the organization will begin seeking recommendations from the public for the first time in the Kennedy Center Honors' 35-year history. It will also seek more recommendations from a committee of artists.

The center is forming a new Special Honors Committee to narrow the roster of potential honorees. Former honorees Chita Rivera and Yo-Yo Ma will serve on the panel, along with opera singer Harolyn Blackwell, dancer Damian Woetzel and two board members.

In January, the center announced a formal review with an advisory panel that included Latino arts groups.

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