Hundreds of protesters joined hands to form a human chain around the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on a beautiful Friday evening, symbolically protecting the memorial after its board voted to close the building after President Donald Trump threatened it could be torn down.
The demonstration was organized by Hands Off the Arts, a coalition of artists, former Kennedy Center employees and supporters. The group began holding weekly Friday protests after Trump added his name to the facade of the center last December.
Organizers said more than 1,500 people had RSVP’d by the day before the protest and estimated that an even larger crowd attended.
A Kennedy Center spokesperson said urgent renovations were needed to protect patrons, artists and staff. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ordered the institution to provide 30 days’ notice before making major physical changes, including demolition.
Along with singing and chanting, there were speeches from elected officials, including D.C. Council member Robert White and U.S. Rep. Don Beyer, a Virginia Democrat who told WTOP he was troubled by the president’s remarks.
“What he said in the last couple of days that if they don’t name it after him he’s going to demolish the building, is one of the saddest things I’ve ever heard from a U.S. president,” Beyer said.
The crowd cheered as Wonder Woman herself, Lynda Carter, was handed the microphone. The singer and actress lives in the Washington area and has performed at the Kennedy Center.
“This is not your building,” Carter said. “It belongs to us. Hands off.”
Rhodesia Assad traveled from Atlanta for the protest, but taking a photo with Carter gave her a memory to last a lifetime.
“I’m overjoyed. She’s my idol,” Assad said. “Like I’ve loved her since I was little, and just to see her, I was in tears.”
Across the street from the Kennedy Center stood Michael Sheaffer, who served in the U.S. Army for 20 years.
He held a sign showing John F. Kennedy in his Navy uniform beside Trump’s mug shot, explaining that he wanted to show the difference between the two.
“You’ve got a gentleman that was awarded for heroism in World War II, Purple Heart,” Sheaffer said. “Then we also have a guy with a bone spur deferment and a felony conviction.”
Leaning against a security barricade, her back to the tarp covering the spot where Trump’s name had been displayed, was D.C. resident Carrie Muniak.
“It feels like these days nothing is sacred,” Muniak said. “He’s already destroyed the East Wing of the White House. It’s not too far of a stretch to worry about the existence of the Kennedy Center.”
Natalie, a longtime patron from Montgomery County who gave only her first name, shared that concern.
“I have been skipping lunches and breakfasts to have a subscription to bring my children to see the performing arts for 30 years,” she said. “The idea that he wants to tear it down is just appalling.”
Parts of the evening were somber, but protesters also sang, laughed and smiled as music played. Among them was Melvin Gerald, Jr., the Kennedy Center’s former vice president of campus planning, who attended with family and former co-workers.
“People really value the arts and realize that this, as the nation’s cultural center, was kind of the bastion for sharing the arts to that community,” Gerald said.
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