No Trump name should appear above the Kennedy Center [View all]

By Christine Ledbetter / Chicago Tribune

When the Kennedy Center opened in 1971, the world premiere of Leonard Bernstein’s “Mass,” a theater piece for singers, dancers and musicians, was performed in its Opera House. Dignitaries included Rose Kennedy, Eunice Shriver, Sen. Edward Kennedy and his wife, Joan, along with artists such as Aaron Copland, Helen Hayes and Isaac Stern.

It was a glittering event that would signal the beginning of the monumental importance of the nation’s cultural center for the next 50-plus years.

Founding Chairman Roger L. Stevens said the Kennedy Center “more than any predecessor lent dignity to the role of the arts and its place in society.”

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The Kennedy Center should not be treated like a hotel with the Trump name plastered all over it. Statements about the first couple’s contributions to the arts are simply not true. Indeed, the Trump administration’s sweeping cuts to federal arts agencies such as the National Endowment for the Humanities and National Endowment for the Arts have caused states to scramble for funds, including 192 organizations in Illinois.

https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/comment-no-trump-name-should-appear-above-the-kennedy-center/