A Requiem for the Kennedy Center

Guest Opinion

We lived in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area (DMV) for 30 years, a time that was one of the most stimulating of our lives, partly because of our proximity to America’s arts and culture hub, the Kennedy Center.

Years passed, and “Pure Michigan” beckoned; we responded to the call. We frequently returned to immerse ourselves in the DMV’s cultural events, particularly those regularly held at the Center, such as the NSO’s performance of Handel’s Hallelujah and Girl from the North Country, a Tony Award-winning Broadway musical that reimagines 20 of Bob Dylan's songs to tell the story of travelers during the Great Depression in Duluth, Minnesota. This would be our last visit to the Center.

The Center has come to symbolize culture, sophistication, and open-mindedness. It has never been a sordid realm of politics; it has never concerned itself with such trivial matters. That is, until now. A politician has taken over this esteemed institution solely for his self-aggrandizement. The luster has faded.

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A brief history (adapted from the Kennedy Center’s website): In 1955, President Eisenhower established a commission to develop a cultural and arts center in the nation’s capital. Three years later, he signed the National Cultural Center Act (Pub. L. No. 85-874). By doing this, President Eisenhower affirmed the inherent value of the arts for all Americans and laid the groundwork for what would eventually become the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

In 1961, President Kennedy appointed Roger L. Stevens as Chairman of the Board of Trustees, a role he held until 1988. Stevens oversaw the construction of the Center and guided it to prominence as a hub for the finest music, dance, and theater.

Two months after President Kennedy’s assassination in November 1963, Congress passed legislation signed by President Johnson to rename the National Cultural Center as a “living memorial” to Kennedy (P.L. 88-260). The law authorized $23 million to aid in constructing what is now known as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Fundraising continued at a swift pace, thanks to significant support from the Friends of the Kennedy Center volunteers, who traveled across the country to secure private contributions. Additionally, countries around the globe began donating funds, building materials, and artwork to help complete the project.

In December 1964, President Lyndon Johnson turned the first shovelful of earth at the Center’s construction site, using the same gold-plated spade that had been used in the groundbreaking ceremonies for both the Lincoln Memorial in 1914 and the Jefferson Memorial in 1938.

From the start, the Kennedy Center has showcased a distinctive public-private partnership. As the nation’s living memorial to President Kennedy, the Center receives annual federal funding for capital repairs and maintenance of its buildings and grounds, which function as a federal facility. However, the Center finances nearly all its artistic programs, educational initiatives, and administrative functions through ticket sales and contributions from individuals, corporations, and private foundations.

The Center opened on Sept. 8, 1971, with the world premiere of a Requiem mass, or “mass for the dead,” honoring President Kennedy. This piece was commissioned from composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein.

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My shock was palpable when President Trump announced, three weeks into his second term, that he would take control of the center.

In just a few days, he removed the Center’s bipartisan board members appointed by Biden, dismissed long-serving board chairman David M. Rubenstein and Center President Deborah Rutter, and appointed himself as the new board chairman.

Trump claimed that the Kennedy Center shows were “terrible” and “a disgrace,” two of his favorite epithets. In the next breath, he admitted he had never seen a show at the Center. 

Since the hostile takeover, theater subscription revenues have reportedly decreased by 82 percent, per The New York Times.

Daniel Kahneman’s concept of “priming” is a psychological phenomenon that may partly explain the takeover. Priming highlights how subtle stimuli can unconsciously influence our thoughts and behaviors, including our political beliefs and choices. This phenomenon, discussed in his book Thinking Fast and Slow, suggests that exposure to specific words, images, or even physical cues can activate and subtly shape our perceptions and judgments.

In the context of the Kennedy Center, the sudden and forceful political takeover could be seen as a form of “priming” to assert dominance over a cultural institution.

Kahneman suggested that authoritarian leaders shape citizens’ minds by creating an impression of omnipresence through the prominent display of large images of themselves and by exerting their influence over all areas of life, including cultural and artistic centers in which they had previously shown no interest.

Why? To showcase their power and assert dominance over everything and everyone. What a noble cause!

Isiah Smith, Jr. is a retired government attorney.

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