Jane Fonda and Joan Baez speak up

NY Times - With the Kennedy Center as the backdrop, Jane Fonda found herself on familiar terrain on Friday — raising an alarm in the nation’s capital, this time over what she described as a growing threat to freedom posed by the Trump administration.

Americans, the actress said in a speech, are “witnessing censorship, political intimidation, and a growing effort to reshape American history and cultural life through fear and attacks on our First Amendment.”

The event was titled “Artists United for Our Freedom,” and was hosted by the Committee for the First Amendment, a collective of artists that promotes free expression. The gathering, on a rainy afternoon with roughly 100 invited guests, included remarks and appearances by people like the actor Sam Waterston, the poet Rupi Kaur, the comedy writer Bess Kalb and the singer Joan Baez.

Ms. Fonda, 88, was one of the artists who last fall spearheaded a relaunch of the committee, which was originally formed in 1947 by a group that included her father, Henry, the actor, as a counter to the McCarthy-era House Un-American Activities Committee. The House panel’s actions led to the blacklisting of artists accused of being Communist sympathizers.
“Today, books are being banned, plaques and monuments depicting historical events this administration wants to forget are being removed,” Ms. Fonda told the crowd.

The White House responded to the demonstration with a statement suggesting that critics have unfairly undervalued the administration’s efforts to overhaul the center.

“President Trump is in the process of making the Trump-Kennedy Center the finest performing arts facility in the world for all Americans to enjoy,” Davis Ingle, a spokesman, said in the statement. “No one cares what Jane Fonda has to say.”

Ms. Baez, 85, and Ms. Fonda have long been ardent activists and are certainly no strangers to demonstrating in Washington. Baez performed the gospel song “We Shall Overcome” at 1963’s March on Washington. She was also a vocal opponent of the Vietnam War. In 1967, the Daughters of the American Revolution denied Baez the use of its Constitution Hall for a concert because of her antiwar activism, so she set up a free concert near the Washington Monument instead.