Today at work was so blessed to meet Ellen Schneider of Active Voice, formerly of PBS's POV, one of a handful of activists invited to a private White House briefing on the impact of grassroots arts, environmental, and social justice activism on US economic recovery.

First off, I don't know why there has been such paltry coverage of this meeting.

Secondly, I don't know why arts activists don't get out the vote better on their issues. If I were Jawole Willa Jo Zollar (also in attendance), of Urban Bush Women, I would have issued a press release around this briefing and some kind of "recommendation" to the Obama administration.

Lastly, I sincerely hope something substantive comes of this -- beyond a poetry jam @ Chez Obama, Michelle's recent meeting with arts leaders at the American Ballet, and the administration's 4% increase to the National Endowment of the Arts' budget, still a paltry sum.

Artists will continue to labor in poverty and obscurity, but I certainly hope the powers that be finally give them their due. I think artists can change the world.