The Score | Congresswoman and Arts Advocate Louise Slaughter (1929 – 2018)

Louise Slaughter, a long-serving Democratic Congresswoman from upstate New York who was a staunch advocate for the arts, died in Washington, D.C. on March 16 at age 88, following injuries sustained in a fall. Slaughter was born in Kentucky and earned her bachelor of science degree in microbiology and master’s degree in public health from the University of Kentucky. She was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1986, representing Rochester, New York, and was in her sixteenth term at the time of her death. Congresswoman Slaughter was a determined arts champion, and in 2005 Slaughter and Rep. Chris Shays (R-CT) received the League of American Orchestras’ Gold Baton award on behalf of the Congressional Arts Caucus. “I’m honored that the League chose to recognize my work for the arts,” Slaughter said at the time. “There will always be a need to spread awareness on the national level for the importance of the arts and I am committed to being out front in that fight.”