RESISTANCE—It is the Only Suitable Response
By Thomas Wolf
Resistance to the actions of an out-of-control Administration in Washington D.C. takes courage and, in some cases, imagination and inventiveness. Along with major institutions like Harvard University, other organizations, including those concerned with youth development and the future of the arts, have come up with some inspiring approaches.
AS I SIT AT MY COMPUTER, I can look out my window and see both Harvard’s Nieman Foundation for Journalism and William James Hall, the University’s towering social science building. Two blocks down Francis Avenue is Harvard’s Divinity School. My office is a five-minute walk from Harvard Yard, the heartbeat of the University’s Cambridge campus, and it is another ten-minute walk to Harvard’s School of Education where my wife, Dennie, and I received both our master’s and doctoral degrees.
The view from my window. The building in the foreground is Harvard’s Nieman Foundation for Journalism. The tall building in back is Henry James Hall, housing social science departments. (Photo credit: Thomas Wolf.)
On my walk today, Harvard looked relatively peaceful. There were the usual tourists in Harvard Yard, having their pictures taken while touching the brass foot of the John Harvard statue for good luck. There were numerous groups of high schoolers and their parents on tours of the campus.
But all is not peaceful at Harvard. The University is in an existential battle with the Trump Administration. The government has insisted on changes that no private university should possibly consider, including demands that would reshape the school’s operations, admissions, hiring, faculty, and student life. As Harvard representatives wrote in response to the Administration’s requirements: “Harvard is not prepared to agree to demands that go beyond the lawful authority of this or any administration.” “No government—regardless of which party is in power—should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue.”
Billions of dollars are at risk. So is academic independence and freedom. The government is even threatening to take away the University’s tax-exempt status.
In learning that Harvard is being proactive and actually suing the federal government, I am proud of my University. Yet, I am very much afraid at the same time. Harvard has taken a courageous stance, unlike Columbia University and numerous large law firms that have bowed to governmental demands only to discover there is no upside to caving into pressure from government officials who have no intention of negotiating in good faith. Many have learned that capitulating to the Trump Administration is a slippery slope that only leads to the escalation of demands. Harvard has said no. It has stood fast. May this provide a resistance roadmap for other universities.
Unlike Harvard, Columbia University acceded to initial conditions set by the Trump Administration. As leaders learned, the demands would only escalate. (Photo credit: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.)
Why does this matter so much? As I have studied the history of tyrannical regimes, especially those that have harassed and persecuted my family—in Soviet Russia, in Nazi Germany, and in occupied France during the second world war—a couple of things stand out. Most obvious, of course, is the existence of a malevolent dictator who will not be bound by societal norms, precedents, or the law.
But lurking in the background is something less obvious and just as insidious. It is the craven willingness of powerful individuals and institutions to make their peace and follow the leader. Whether it is ambition, fear, money, or fundamentally flawed character, these individuals, by their very support, give a leader legitimacy and power. Whether captains of industry, legal professionals, politicians, media moguls, religious leaders or others, those who have the power to resist decline to do so. They become enablers. Sadly, in the United States at this time, there are many such individuals and institutions. There is a certain irony to the fact that many of those officials applauding the attacks on universities, burnished their resumés and got where they are by touting their degrees from those very same institutions.
What matters, then, is encouraging and applauding those with the courage to resist, those who—sometimes at great risk to themselves—say no.
In the remainder of this blog, I tell a heartwarming story of resistance that, like Harvard’s, offers hope that there are those that will stand up for what they know is right. It is also a story about the power of music.
The leadership of the Kennedy Center (pictured above) has historically been professional and non-partisan. With its recent take-over by President Donald Trump and a board led by his loyalists, activities that appear to reflect “diversity, equity and inclusion” are not welcome. (Photo credit: The Kennedy Center -- From the Georgetown Waterfront Washington (DC), August 2014, Ron Cogswell, 2014 via Flickr. This image is in the Creative Commons allowing for modifications and commercial use. No changes were made.)
We might begin the saga at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., the leading performing arts venue in the nation’s capital. Until this year its mission was non-partisan and it boasted high quality and varied programming as well as exceptionally skilled professional management. It had been generously supported with both public and private dollars for decades. With its recent take-over by President Donald Trump who promised “NO MORE DRAG SHOWS, OR OTHER ANTI-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA” and with a board led by his loyalists, the new management is attempting to ensure that its activities align with the President’s beliefs. Among those programs that are clearly not welcome are any that appear to reflect a philosophy of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
It is therefore no surprise that there will be no concert collaboration at the Kennedy Center on May 4th between the U.S. Marine Band (the oldest and generally considered the best military band in the country) and a group of outstanding young musicians participating in a program called Equity Arc. As reported in a February 6, 2025 article in The Washington Post, “Following Executive Orders, ‘The President’s Own’ Marine Band Scraps Concert.”
“The President’s Own” United States Marine Band, pictured here on the South Portico of the White House, is the oldest performing musical organization in the United States. It was established in 1798, and performs at the White House more than 300 times annually. (Photo credit: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.)
“The canceled collaboration with Equity Arc was to feature high-school musicians of color who competed for spots to perform with the U.S. Marine Band…. The performance was to be the culmination of a ‘multiday music intensive with musicians from ‘The President’s Own,’ and high school musician fellows selected through auditions organized by the Chicago-based Equity Arc, a nonprofit organization that provides ‘specialized mentoring support for young BIPOC musicians’ and ‘helps institutions take meaningful steps toward equity and inclusion.’ A spokesperson for the Marines confirmed in an email Tuesday afternoon that ‘the Marine Band’s participation in this event was canceled in accordance with recent Executive Orders.’”
The concert had been on the United States Marine Band’s (USMB) calendar for months. National auditions had taken place, adjudicated by Band members. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for young musicians to appear on a national stage with one of the greatest of the nation’s ensembles. Though the order to cancel was challenged internally, in the end, it was a four-star general that made the final decision after an appeal from the USMB who notified Stanford Thompson, the executive director of Equity Arc, that the educational collaboration and concert had to be cancelled.
Musicians of Equity Arc in rehearsal. (Photo credit: Anne Ryan.)
“Equity Arc’s executive director Stanford Thompson and associate director Magee Capsouto confirmed in a phone interview that the cancellation impacts up to 30 young musicians from across the country who earned their spots through competitive virtual auditions…. ‘We believe in the training and mentorship of these musicians, and being able to put them into spaces where they can learn what it’s like to be a professional performing musician,’ Thompson said. ‘One of the things we’ve wanted to do is expose students to military careers, and we’ve seen nothing more powerful than when the musicians we work with have opportunities to sit side-by-side in rehearsal, performances and coaching.’”
In what some may characterize as “from the sublime to the ridiculous,” the May 4th live concert was replaced with a program called “May the 4th Be With You: Marine Band at the Movies.”
Strathmore Hall in North Bethesda, Maryland, where the concert of retired military band musicians and the young musicians of Equity Arc took place. (Photo credit: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.)
And there the story would have ended had it not been for the CBS television show “60 Minutes” that got wind of the events and, along with the staff of Equity Arc, wanted to do something about them.
Working rapidly, the Equity Arc staff contacted retired musicians from D.C.’s premiere military bands, asking them whether they would like to fill in for those who had been prevented from performing. The response was overwhelmingly positive.
At the same time, CBS “60 Minutes” arranged to bring the young musicians and their families to the Washington, D.C. area and to the magnificent Strathmore Concert Hall in North Bethesda, Maryland. CBS paid for their travel and housing for the weekend of rehearsal and concert that would be filmed and produced for a segment featured on its regular Sunday show. Equity Arc staff arranged for the two days of rehearsals in Georgetown while Strathmore hosted the concert and taping—a wonderful collaborative effort.
Instead of a few hundred audience members who might have seen the program of the US Marine Band and Equity Arc students at the Kennedy Center, millions were able to enjoy it on CBS “60 Minutes.”
Instead of a few hundred audience members who might have seen the program at the Kennedy Center, millions were able to enjoy it on CBS “60 Minutes.” Here is a link to the feature segment. It is inspiring and definitely worth your time.[i]
Predictably, President Donald Trump has recently criticized CBS News and its program “60 Minutes,” calling for severe penalties for the network’s reporting. He is pursuing a $20 billion defamation lawsuit against CBS. It seems that anyone who takes aggressive action to counter the capricious decisions of this Administration is vulnerable. [ii] But the courage and actions of individuals and institutions willing to stand up to the President and his henchmen (and women) give me hope. May others follow their example.
[i] For those who may be interested in the entire concert, here is a link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E48GgDX2NCA.
[ii] Sadly, as of April 22, 2025, Bill Owens, the executive producer of the CBS “60 Minutes,” the long-running Sunday news program, said he would resign. The show has faced mounting pressure from both President Trump and its corporate ownership at Paramount.