March against Trump (November)
March 30, 2017 By Hannah Wulkan
Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, who has been an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, is now speaking out against the president’s plan to cut arts funding.
Van Bramer is holding a rally on the steps of City Hall on Monday at noon, along with Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, to oppose proposed federal budget cuts to the National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, the Institute for Museum & Library Services, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
“President Trump’s proposed budget is an unprecedented and vicious assault on the arts, humanities, and libraries,” said Van Bramer. “As the Chair of the Committee on Cultural Affairs and Libraries, I will fight these cuts at every stage of the budget process. On April 3 on the steps of City Hall, we will say loud and clear to President Trump that his blatant disregard for the importance of the arts has no place in our city and our country.”
In addition to Van Bramer and Mark-Viverito, several other politicians, artists, and representatives from various arts advocacy organizations will speak at the rally.
Directly following the hour-long rally, Van Bramer and attendees will move inside City Hall where he will introduce a resolution in support of the NEA, NEH, IMLS, and CPB and attendees will have a chance to testify.
The rally has sparked plenty of attention on Facebook with more than 2,000 people marked as either attending or interested in going. A spokesperson for Van Bramer said that they expect at least 500 people to attend, far outpacing their initial expectations for the event, and due to crowd limits at City Hall the rally may have to move to the surrounding park.
Confirmed speakers include Comptroller Scott Stringer, Presidents and CEOs of the 3 library systems, David Byrne from the Talking Heads, President CEO of WNET Neal Shapiro and Executive Director of Actors Equity Mary McColl.
For more information visit the event page at https://www.facebook.com/events/1410437549008356
