Topline
An activist group opposing President Donald Trump’s takeover of the Kennedy Center said it will form a “human chain” outside the Washington, D.C. arts venue Friday evening, demanding Trump be removed as chairman for failing to “protect & manage this vibrant arts memorial to a slain President.”
The activist group Hands Off the Arts plans to protest outside the Kennedy Center Friday evening. (Photo by Kent Nishimura / AFP via Getty Images)
AFP via Getty Images
Key Facts
Activist group Hands Off the Arts is organizing the protest, which it says will begin outside the Kennedy Center venue at 6:30 p.m. EDT Friday evening.
The protest, titled “Hands Around the Kennedy Center,” will include speeches and musical performances, and protesters are expected to form a “human chain” around the venue.
There are more than 950 people signed up to attend, Hands Off the Arts co-founder Chris Raleigh told Forbes.
“The members & chair of this board are NOT performing their fiduciary duty to protect & manage this vibrant arts memorial to a slain President,” Raleigh told Forbes, adding, “Trump and this board need to be removed by a judge and the Center overseen by a receivership.”
Tara Hoot, a drag performer who has previously protested Trump’s Kennedy Center takeover, is also among the event’s organizers.
Who Is Supporting The Kennedy Center Protest?
Robert White, a city councilman who is the Democratic nominee to be Washington, D.C.’s delegate to the House of Representatives, will attend, Raleigh told Forbes. Kerry Kennedy, niece of former President John F. Kennedy and sister of health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has promoted the protest on social media. Kennedy has been highly critical of Trump’s takeover of the arts venue, accusing Trump earlier this week of taking the venue “hostage” and urging him to “leave the Kennedy Center alone.” The Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO, which is composed of more than 150 local unions, also posted about the protest on social media. Lynda Carter, an actress known for her starring role in the 1970s “Wonder Woman” TV series, also promoted the event on Instagram. “Our music and our memories are being wiped out. AMERICA built this city. Not a president,” Carter said.
What Is Hands Off The Arts?
Hands Off the Arts has protested Trump’s takeover of the Kennedy Center for months. The group has held various protests outside the performing arts venue this year, often featuring signs that bear the group’s name, as well as performances by Hoot and other local drag artists and musicians. Hands Off the Arts also celebrated outside the Kennedy Center when a judge ruled in May that the institution’s board could not unilaterally decide to add Trump’s name to the venue. Hands Off the Arts also provided Forbes and other media outlets with the first pictures of the Kennedy Center’s front portico after Trump’s name was removed, taken from behind the tarps that have obstructed view of the front sign for months.
What’s The Latest In The Kennedy Center Legal Battle?
The Kennedy Center legal battle, which began in December when Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio sued the Trump administration over its attempt to put Trump’s name on the venue, heated up in spectacular fashion this week. On Tuesday, District Judge Christopher R. Cooper ruled the Kennedy Center cannot inscribe Trump’s name on the marble facade, nor can it name the grounds the venue sits on “President Donald J. Trump Plaza,” saying the move would violate a prior court order. The venue “cannot install memorials for President Trump or anyone or anything else at the Kennedy Center without Congress’s blessing,” Cooper ruled, reiterating his May order that noted the ability to name the center is designated to Congress. The Trump administration appealed the ruling, and Trump has since repeatedly suggested he may demolish the arts venue if it does not bear his name. The Kennedy Center abruptly shut its doors to the public following Cooper’s ruling, citing safety issues, which Beatty has since challenged in court. On Thursday, Cooper ruled the Kennedy Center must provide at least 30 days notice to the court if it makes major changes to construction plans, including potential demolition. The judge, though, granted Beatty the ability to seek discovery about Trump’s claims he might demolish the center after she submitted a photo to the court that appears to depict Trump looking at a placard that reads, “Kennedy Center DEMOLISHED.”
further reading
Kennedy Center Ordered To Provide 30 Days Notice Before Potential Demolition (Forbes)
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