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#kennedycenter

3 posts3 participants0 posts today

"It's the men who appear to have let their emotions — whether it's unjustified fear of immigrants or an unwillingness to cross Trump — interfere with rational decision-making." #AmandaMarcotte in today's #Salon column

This exchange between #RichardGrenell, interim head of the #KennedyCenter, and musician #YasminWilliams, demonstrates the accuracy of her claim. She's calm; he's unhinged. It's the men (think #Kavanaugh, #StephenMiller [if you dare]) who are irrational.

theguardian.com/us-news/2025/a

The Guardian · Kennedy Center director snipes at musician for ‘vapidness’ over DEI concernsBy Maya Yang

Interview: "Taking Down Everything Black”: Marc Bamuthi Joseph on Trump’s Takeover

Trump’s changes at the Kennedy Center destroyed a “sanctuary for freedom of thought & freedom of creative expression.”

"The rhetoric from Trump & others “severely restricts & almost criminalizes demographic realities outside of white, straight, male Christianity.”

democracynow.org/2025/3/31/ken

#kennedycenter #trump #genderism #racism #uspol #dei #fascism #censorship .

Democracy Now! · “Taking Down Everything Black”: Fired Kennedy Center VP Marc Bamuthi Joseph on Trump’s TakeoverBy Democracy Now!

Welcome to the Ministry of Culture: Where Art Goes to Die Quietly in a Patriotically Approved Corner

Nothing screams “freedom” quite like the government telling museums which stories are too real and which artists are too brown.

In the latest installment of “Make Art Great Again,” Trump’s regime has decided that cultural institutions like the Smithsonian and the Kennedy Center are just a little too independent. Can’t have artists running around making people think or, doG forbid, reflect. So out goes “The Shape of Power” exhibit for being “divisive,” and in comes a new aesthetic: Norman Rockwell, but make it autocratic.

The Smithsonian’s been told to clean house, and we all know what that means. Anything that centers race, systemic injustice, queer identity, or uncomfortable truths gets quietly repatriated to oblivion. Meanwhile, the Kennedy Center has seen its Social Impact team dismantled and its Artistic Director fired; for what? Caring too much about actual impact. Apparently, art that speaks to society is now “inappropriate.” Unless, of course, it’s glorifying flags, founding fathers, or folks who’ve never had to protest anything other than brunch prices.

We’ve seen this playbook before. It ran in Germany. It aired in Italy. It sold out stadiums in 1930s Europe. Authoritarian regimes don’t hate art—they just hate art they can’t control. And now, in 2025 America, the long knives have been replaced by executive orders and budget cuts.

Let’s be clear: this isn’t just a culture war. It’s a cultural purge; a forced rewriting of national memory, where history gets edited with the same grace and subtlety as a Soviet photo archive.

You might think, “Well, they’re just targeting a few exhibits or programs.” But this is death by a thousand redactions. A chilling signal to artists, curators, and institutions: Comply or be cut. Conform or be canceled (ironically, by the same people who whine about cancel culture between golf rounds and grift emails).

The real tragedy? We’re watching it happen in real time—this gutting of public arts, this sanitizing of culture—and people are still asking, “But isn’t this just about restoring balance?” Sure. If by balance you mean tipping everything into the sea and lighting it on fire.

So here’s to the brave artists who refuse to be scrubbed out of history, and to the rest of us: wake up. Because the last time governments told museums what they could show, the world got a lot darker. And no one’s commissioning murals about that. #ArtsAndCulture #Censorship #FreedomOfExpression #CulturalHeritage #MuseumLeadership #ArtsAdvocacy #HumanRights #PublicPolicy #CreativeFreedom #LeadershipInCrisis #DefendTheArts #HistoricalNarrative #SocialImpact #CivicEngagement #Smithsonian #KennedyCenter #Authoritarianism #RewritingHistory #ArtMatters #voicesthatmatter

Interview: "Fired Kennedy Center VP Marc Bamuthi Joseph Speaks Out"

"The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has fired at least five members of its social impact team, including its artistic director, the renowned artist Marc Bamuthi Joseph.

"The team aimed to expand the art center’s reach to diverse audiences and to commission new works by Black composers."

democracynow.org/2025/3/27/ken

#trump #autocracy #kennedycenter #uspol #Marcbamuthijoseph #performingarts #racism #dei #fascism .

Democracy Now! · Fired Kennedy Center VP Marc Bamuthi Joseph Speaks Out After Trump Guts Social Impact TeamBy Democracy Now!

Via Maria Kabas, on The Handbasket: "Last night at the Kennedy Center, Guster brought on cast members from Finn, an LGBTQ+ kids musical that was recently canceled when Trump took over the center. They performed the band’s song “Hard Times” to a standing ovation."

#KennedyCenter #Guster #Finn #FuckTheFascists

thehandbasket.co/p/guster-finn

The HandbasketEXCLUSIVE: After Kennedy Center cancels LGBTQ+ musical, Guster brings cast on stage in protestFinn's run at the storied DC venue was axed after Trump took over.

Interview: "Fired Kennedy Center VP Marc Bamuthi Joseph Speaks Out"

"The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has fired at least five members of its social impact team, including its artistic director, the renowned artist Marc Bamuthi Joseph.

"The team aimed to expand the art center’s reach to diverse audiences and to commission new works by Black composers."

democracynow.org/2025/3/27/ken

#trump #autocracy #kennedycenter #uspol #Marcbamuthijoseph #performingarts #racism #dei #fascism.

Democracy Now! · Fired Kennedy Center VP Marc Bamuthi Joseph Speaks Out After Trump Guts Social Impact TeamBy Democracy Now!

Conan O’Brien was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for Comedy at the #KennedyCenter yesterday, but it didn’t go as the new Board of Directors had hoped! 😂 huffpost.com/entry/conan-obrie

For instance, Sarah Silverman quipped “I just really miss the days when you were America’s only orange asshole.”

And Stephen Colbert added “This is a very different place. Today they announced two board members, Bashar-al-Assad and Skeletor.”

#Resist. #DoNotComply and #DoNotCollaborateWithFascists in #USpol.

HuffPost · Comics Brutally Taunt Trump At Kennedy Center In Historic 'Resistance'By Ron Dicker