Trump brings the fear of censorship
In an Instagram post last week, Oscar-winning actor Julianne Moore deleted his 2007 children’s book Freckleface Strawberry during his review, and it was from a school serving US military and civilian defense children. He wrote that he is “deeply saddened” by the Trump administration’s decision to remove the issue. employee.
According to DW, the book tells the story of a young red-headed man who hates her freckles but ultimately learns to love them. According to the Guardian, the Department of Defense has stated that all library books are being considered “potentially related to topics of gender ideology or discriminatory equity,” and that “minority” books have been reviewed. A memo was distributed indicating that “minor” was being monitored. “Review” as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on diversity, equity and comprehensive programs.
“It’s a book I wrote for my kids and for other children, and to remind me that we all struggle, but are united by our humanity and our community. “I was really sad and didn’t expect to see this in a country where freedom of speech and expression is a constitutional right.”
Much of the arts and humanities world is afraid of an imminent environment of censorship – and that is far from the only concern.
“Attack on Free Expression”
In January, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that required all federal agencies to terminate the Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DEI) program. The move was felt in the art scene, dozens of major museums receiving federal funding, such as the Smithsonian and the National Museum. These agencies were left to determine whether their programs comply with new directives that they consider to be discriminatory. The National Gallery of Art has already announced that it will close its station.
“The Trump administration’s attacks and censorship of activities that are touched by race in one way or another is on top of us. And in fact you are simply racially biased. It’s very inconsistent because there are no clear guidelines on what to mean. We are trying to correct past complaints,” says Maxwell, former museum curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and director of the Whitney Museum. Anderson says. “So there’s something like a free attack on free expression.”
Anderson, who now runs the soul of a foundation supporting black artists in the Southern United States, says he and other equal-driven organizations are paying attention to the manipulation of the new administration.
“Because talking about racial history now seems illegal in the United States,” Anderson said. “This kind of erasure is shocking for us in the US, as it reminds us of the fascist movement of the 30’s. I thought it would be a devastating blow to the culture if Trump was elected, but that’s what Know how deeply it will be reduced.”
Federal government support gets x
During his first term in office, Trump dissolved the Presidential Committee on the Arts and Humanities, a historically nonpartisan group founded by Republican President Ronald Reagan. And the humanities can be a powerful force for social change. ”
The committee brought together renowned artists, scholars and museum experts to advise on cultural policy. The past included members such as Frank Sinatra and cellist Yo Yoma.
In 2017, President Trump banned the group after 17 members resigned from responding to a fatal white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Joe Biden revived the group in 2022, citing the importance of the arts and the humanities. Then, in January, Trump again dissolved the group with a series of executive orders aimed at rewinding the previous administration’s policies on arts, culture and historical memorials.
Already, the national funding agency (NEA), the federal agency that is the largest funder of arts education in communities across the country, has cut the FY26 Challenge America grant. For underserved communities in the US. The organization has announced that funds and talent will be heading towards the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. This is one of the president’s planning projects, along with the creation of a new National Sculpture Garden.
Kennedy Center Takeover
But ironically, President Trump has recently been at the helm of DC’s Kennedy Center for the Arts, one of the largest performing arts institutions in the United States.
The president coordinated the true acquisition of cultural companies. It hosts over 2,000 performances per year in the artistic field and is home to the National Symphony Orchestra and National Opera.
President Trump fired many of his previous board members and replaced them with hand-picked allies, including Second Lady Ushavance, his advisor, Dance Kabino, and his Chief of Staff Susie Wills. They elected him the chairman.
President Trump said he wanted the agency to move away from the “culture of awakening” and write on social media that there would be “a further drug shows, or other anti-American propaganda.”
Many artists have cancelled future performances from the takeover protest. We also cancelled changes to the program that raised eyebrows, which occurred simultaneously but appears to have nothing to do with it. Finn, a child’s musical, has been cancelled about a young shark who noticed he was associated with a smaller fish than the other sharks. The National Symphony Orchestra’s concert entitled Peacock in the Peacock between the Doves, which is said to be a celebration of love and diversity, was also postponed indefinitely shortly after the administration changed.
Anderson points out that, in contrast to the performing arts scene, museums usually plan exhibitions a few years ago.
“So there were many in museum calendars across the country that had controversial works in the eyes of the new administration, where ideologically rich and textured works of black artists and works were still in the book. That means there’s an exhibit.’ Anderson might pose more challenges if they cancel them.
In the meantime, he hopes that the leaders of arts institutions have the courage to stand up to what is happening despite the many challenges that exist in doing so.
After all, he points out: “Self-censorship is, in a sense, a more dangerous force than we are today.”