Ailey, who was raised in rural Texas by a single mother, founded the interracial Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York City in 1958 and helped popularize modern dance. His 'Revelations' became one of the most-performed modern dance pieces in history. Ailey received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1988, a year before he died at the age of 58 from AIDS-related complications. In 2014, President Barack Obama selected Ailey to be a posthumous recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.