In her two decades as a human rights lawyer, working on issues in more than 25 countries, Hadar Harris says she is alarmed by what she’s witnessing on U.S. soil and worried that some Americans may not be paying close enough attention.
“I would say that this is a very dangerous moment,” Harris said, sitting at a table in a small workshare office in downtown Washington, where she is the managing director of the Washington office of PEN America, an organization that promotes literary freedoms and free expression.
Her concern is focused, in part, on the major changes happening at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts under the Trump administration.
Named after the former U.S. President, the Kennedy Center, as it’s known, serves as a national arts centre that’s meant to reflect the pulse of American culture. It’s a space that hosts a wide range of artists, from well known performers to more independent productions. And while it may seem unusual to raise awareness about what some may see as just another concert hall, there’s concern that this about much more than just a calendar of arts events.
“You have a president who is seeking to consolidate power … really trampling on key constitutional principles including freedom of expression and freedom of…
