I was dreading the prospect of this year’s June 14 - U.S. Flag Day - being defined by the undignified “bread and circuses” spectacle of an autocratic U.S. President and his sycophants marking his 80th birthday by watching brute force gladiatorial cage fights on the South Lawn of the White House.
Also, as the 4th of July the 250th anniversary of the country comes nearer, I worried about whether the vision of the country pushed by Trump’s Freedom250 task force would successfully hijack the national narrative, and be dominated by his pathetic egotism and the exclusivist “tough white guy” narrative of the country’s history he has inflamed and used for his corrupt purposes.
* * *
Then I became aware that something else was going to happen on the evening of June 14: a 90-minute nationally streamed concert from the historic New York City Town Hall, with high-profile artists and activists speaking out against the growing threats to free expression in the country.
The concert, “Rise Up Sing Out” was sponsored by the Committee for the First Amendment, which actor Jane Fonda has taken the lead in reviving since last fall, in conjunction with the No Kings and Indivisible organizations that have played such a major role in mobilizing people nationwide at the grassroots level.
* * *
It was a joyous star-studded community-building, celebration of resistance and call to work for social and political change. Performing arts, participatory singing and social activism coming together to offer a different and more hope-fulled vision of American’s future.
The event included passionate uplifting speeches worth listening to by Jane Fonda, Joy Reid, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone and Julia Roberts.
There were beautiful solo and group performances of social justice anthems like “Change is Gonna Come” (Sasha Allen), “Huddled Masses” (Jenn Colella and Alex Joseph Grayson with Broadway Inspirational Voices and the BIV Band), “All You Fascists Bound to Lose” (Bette Midler).
Lively sing-alongs with Singing Resistance and the Rude Mechanical Orchestra marked the start and end of the program and drew great crowd engagement.
A palpable sense of collective joy and commitment.
* * *
If you missed it, you can now view the “Rise Up Sing Out” concert it in its entirety:
I strongly encourage you to tune in and let the inspiration of the message and the music bring you hope and the motivation to renew or increase your engagement with those who say “Enough!” to the way our fundamental democratic freedoms have been under attack.
As so often in history, it’s the power of the arts to articulate counter-visions to the present and to inspire people to engage in working towards these visions, and it’s the role of music and song to bring people together and to further hope and commitment.
© 2026 Karine Schomer · Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
