So you’ve decided to boycott the Kennedy Center…
I know it wasn’t an easy decision, but you’re doing the right thing.
Don’t worry, it’s natural to question whether or not this is, in fact, the right thing.
Doing the right thing often brings with it collateral damage, both internally and externally, because much like the work-to-reward ratio, it will be hard, and there will be sacrifices.
It’s especially difficult when the right thing directly affects those you care about.
-But in order to arrive at the right thing, you must be ready to break out the scale of Anubis and weigh your heart against the feather of Maat.
All this to say, and I won’t sugar coat it. There must be a boycott.
-and we can’t half-ass it.
The fact of the matter is we are amidst an administration which recognizes only a whole-ass defiance toward it. This administration is a rabid hound which cowers only when faced with an equally domineering aggression. It is an administration with a proven track record of determined animus toward anything which turns from its dated, right-wing, Christian morality.
Look at it this way;
An increase in ticket sales at the Kennedy Center, and Trump will claim a victorious justification of this takeover.
An unchanged, steady stream of ticket sales at the Kennedy Center, and Trump will claim a victorious justification of this takeover.
And if those two things happen, Trump will never let go of the Kennedy Center.
You can’t argue you’re still going to patronize the Kennedy Center to “support the artists” when LGBTQ+, Women, and all non-white artists and acts driven on those cultures and platforms will be the first to be removed from the lineup.
-If you don’t boycott the Kennedy Center, you can expect the following;
-The removal of LGBTQ+ art and artists,
-The removal of the Drag community, its art and artists,
-The removal of anything that is Pro Woman or hints at Women’s Rights,
-The removal of Black art, Hispanic, Latino, Asian, Indian, Indigenous, etc art.
-The removal of any kind of international culture that isn’t dictated by Trump to be safe and sterile.
You won’t see Alvin Ailey performing Revelations any more, that’s for sure.
Trump has made it clear he wishes to erase Black History by refusing to teach it in schools, suppressing critical race theory, or even acknowledge the celebratory month.
This week, the Defense Intelligence Agency ordered a pause of all activities and events related to Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Black History Month, Juneteenth, LGBTQ Pride Month, Holocaust Remembrance Day and other “special observances” to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order, according to a memo obtained by NBC News.
NBC News
Patronize the Kennedy Center, and all we’ll hear is Beethoven’s 9th echoing throughout the concert hall before bouncing off the head of a giant, orange monster, where a bronze bust of Kennedy once rested.
Some of us are going to hurt from this, including Dancing in the District.
We had a great partnership with the Kennedy Center which allowed us to bring you dance reviews and imagery from world class performances. It should be no surprise that Kennedy Center reviews were among our most read articles. It’s unsettling that given the enthusiasm showcased by the Trump/Musk administration to fire anyone remotely out of line with its right-wing ideology, that I feel naming the KenCen staff who worked with us might endanger them in the future. But thank you to those people. You know who you are. The KenCen staff and Artists who will perform there this season will also hurt. But they are going to have to understand it’s not personal. Some will play to dwindling audiences today so that we may all be in the show tomorrow. Again, it’s not personal. I’m giving up something. We’re all going to have to give up something.
But I’ll tell you what is personal.
Attending a Kennedy Center show, and supporting an administration of hate.
Boycott the Kennedy Center. Do more of what Kelly King and Keira Hart-Mendoza did. Vote with your wallet.
The current administration was built on the promise of wealth. The Kennedy Center relies on federal funders, but also private donations.
The Kennedy Center CANNOT SURVIVE ON OLD, CONSERVATIVE RETIREES. YOU, the ARTISTS, and YOUNG ADULT and ART COMMUNITY CAN FORCE TRUMP OUT.
It’s PROGRESSIVES and LIBERALS who keep the Arts alive.
We can tilt the scales.
–David Dowling
DITD
———————————————–
EDIT: It has been requested that I add some more positives to this boycott, so here they are.
• Patrons now have the opportunity to give their hard-earned dollars to LOCAL theatres and Arts organizations instead.
• Local theatres often showcase a wider variety of art forms, such as Aerial, Burlesque, Drag, Flamenco, Cuban Salsa, Bharatanatyam, Puppetry and more!
• Artists nationwide have a cause to unite over.
• Conservative, Right-Wing Artists do exist. This is a chance for them to see what the fruit their beliefs actually bear.
• You can join us. You can boycott peacefully, yet maintain the necessary vociferous criticism of this administration, and make a difference.
5.10.25 – MORE REASONS
Like, when the president of an Arts organization calls to blacklist any srtists who stands up for themselves. This is called a political witch hunt. We don’t support that.
-1 Comment-
[…] I wrote an article in February about boycotting the Kennedy Center, and despite what I would call a solid case, you decided on a Diet Boycott with Lemon. […]