Why I Performed at the Kennedy Center
To Boycott or to Show Up? That is the question...I had to ask myself.
There has been a lot of talk about boycotts recently. That is totally understandable given the current state of our country. What do you do when you want to fight back in a system run by capitalism? You defund capitalism. Much of the Black community’s focus has been on corporations who have dismantled their D.E.I. programs now that D.E.I. isn’t cool anymore. Fortune 500 companies are getting rid of D.E.I. like my 13 year old got rid of the Stanley cup that she so desperately ”needed” in 2023. Two of the corporations who have tossed away diversity, equity, and inclusion like they are Beanie Babies from the 90’s are Target and Walmart. A boycott sounds good, right? These are two of the biggest and most corporate-y corporations. These aren’t ma and pa organizations. While Walmart is technically family owned by The Walton family, they have effectively killed many family owned businesses in their big box domination. And Target is an easy target since they put the word “target” in their name.
But only if it was that easy. Many Black folks–including my friend K. J. Kearney here on Substack–have pointed out that Target actually does a much better job than most big box stores of stocking products by Black-owned companies. And through its incredibly successful domination of America, Walmart has also effectively become the only store in town (and/or at least the cheapest store in town) for many parts of this country. With people all over the country freaking out over the egg prices, try telling them to “boycott” the place with the lowest prices that is also the most convenient.
I put boycott in quotes because, despite whatever happens to these companies' bottom lines, I don’t think there has been an actual boycott. That word gets thrown around a lot this millennium, but I think it gets misused more often than not. From what I was taught, a boycott involves meetings, strategy, and a concrete demand from the people who are boycotting. The Montgomery bus boycott is, to my mind, the best example. In the wake of activist Rosa Parks' arrest, the Black community of Montgomery refused to take the city buses until the buses allowed Black folks to sit wherever they wanted to sit. Organizers in Montgomery put together carpools to help folks get around while they were boycotting the buses. Some people used it as an opportunity to get their steps in, and they walked to work. It took 382 days. But the city folded, and Black folks won our rights, although many of us black folk still prefer sitting in the back of the bus. We just want to have a choice.
When is it a “boycott” and when is it a boycott? And is not showing up in the face of evil always the moral thing to do? Clearly, the answer is no. Let’s remember that the other effective tactic during the Civil Rights Movement of the ‘50s and ‘60s was the sit-in. Sit-ins were the opposite of boycotts, but they had the same goal. “GIVE ME MY RIGHTS, DAMMIT!” Sit-ins said, “I’m not leaving until you give me the same thing that you give white people.” And when that eventually worked, often Black folks didn’t even want to patronize those places. Again, we just wanted the the choice to be ours.
Of course, sometimes demanding your rights doesn't have to be that organized. Sometimes it is spontaneous, like the Stonewall Uprising. Sometimes it is just about making sure you speak up when others can’t. Or maybe you stay and speak up because your voice is more powerful. Your voice can sometimes cut through the noise.
I've had a song on repeat in my head recently. Ella's Song by the a capella group Sweet Honey in the Rock. I keep hearing the chorus.
“We who believe in freedom cannot rest!”
It has been an affirming way to remind myself that of course I’m tired. But what did I expect? To not be tired when I’m trying to help stop Trump’s fascism?
Sweet Honey in the Rock is a vocal ensemble of Black women who are as dedicated to their craft as singers as they are dedicated to the liberation of oppressed people. They embody the idea that there are multiple paths to freedom. When North Carolina passed a transphobic bathroom bill, many musicians canceled their concerts in protest of the bill. Well, Sweet Honey in The Rock showed up as a way to express support for the transgender community and to hopefully provide some succor to the community. (The word succor is literally perfect for this situation.)
Member of Sweet Honey in The Rock, Carol Maillard, said it better than I could:
I listened to their song, “Ella’s Song” a lot this year already. Then last week happened.
Last Wednesday I was on a plane heading to Washington, DC to perform at the Kennedy Center. It was the kick-off show of my return to stand-up comedy tour, named “Who’s With Me?” (That title only gets better as time goes on.) The show was booked in October 2024, back when we were getting prepared for AMERICA’S FIRST BLACK, INDIAN, AND WOMAN PRESIDENT! It was initially scheduled for the weekend of the inauguration. After Trump won, I realized that inauguration weekend was about to be way different than we all thought. I didn’t know if it would be good for the show or bad. The Kennedy Center decided that moving the date would be better. That is how I ended up being booked to perform at the Kennedy Center on the seemingly random day of February 13th. My career continues to work in mysterious ways.
A few days before I was on the flight, Trump announced that he was taking over the Kennedy Center, something no president has ever done or even threatened to do before. Nobody–including people at the Kennedy Center–really knew what that meant. We all know that Trump just says stuff to say stuff. Then he waits to see what happens. So when Trump had made his grand pronouncement, the good folks at the Kennedy Center just put their heads down and did their work, while keeping their “top eye” open. But the day before the show, as I was flying to DC, Trump had announced that had now appointed himself the Chairman of the Kennedy Center, something NO PRESIDENT HAS EVER DONE. Then some people at the Kennedy Center started resigning. Some people were fired. Musician Ben Folds resigned his position at the Kennedy Center. Legendary TV producer Shonda Rimes did the same. Eventually, actress, writer, producer, and total vibe Issa Rae cancelled her sold-out show at the Kennedy Center. It was starting to feel real boycott-ish. I totally stand with them on their decisions, but I was already heading to DC and I was going to do my show.
As I was on my flight, someone reached out to me on social media to let me know that they were a part of a group called the Free DC Project. The group was planning a protest–in the form of a dance party–outside the Kennedy Center, before my show. This was to stand up to Trump for specifically saying that in his tenure there would be no more drag shows… because…THE CHILDREN!!! I let them know that (OF COURSE) I was on their side. And they let me know that they were on my side and invited me to the dance party. While the stakes were certainly getting higher, I never thought about canceling. All of this felt like more reason to do the show. I wanted to show up and show Trump that on February 13, I was the Chairman of the Kennedy Center.
After I arrived in DC, more news came in. On Thursday morning audio leaked of Trump saying that he took over the Kennedy Center because it had gotten–his words–“too wokey.” Well, when I heard that I thought to myself, “HEY! He’s talking about me!” I decided at that point that when I performed at the Kennedy Center, I was going to turn the “wokey” up to eleven!
Throughout it all, the good folks at the Kennedy Center, who had booked me for the gig, and who, luckily for me, had not been fired or resigned, repeatedly checked in with me to see if I was going to cancel. They definitely would have understood, but they also would have had to deal with a shitshow of ticket returns and angry attendees since it was less than 24 hours before the show. I never even thought about it. As far as I was concerned, I was performing at the OG Kennedy Center. Trump had said a lot of stuff but he hadn’t put his orange stamp on it yet.
If it’s not clear, then there's something you should know about me. I believe in showing up when the scrutiny gets the most scrutinous. It’s not my fault. It is how I was raised. I sometimes wish that it wasn't that way. I wish I could just duck and dive out of difficult times, but I can’t. I blame my parents…and their parents…and...
I’m the guy who has–throughout his career–become famous for talking to people and taking on subjects that others won’t. So I totally understand that my calculus of decision making is different from other people. I got famous for talking to the KKK. And people went from accusing me of doing a stunt to thanking me for my bravery. I sat down across from admitted white nationalist Richard Spencer during the height of the alt-right movement. People said I shouldn’t have platformed him, and now he is so anonymous that he would probably come in fourth place in a Richard Spencer lookalike contest. And yes, I’m the guy who waded into the deep end of the often toxic Bill Cosby conversation and came out better on the other side.
Also, showing up for this kind of charged event is in my job description. As a comedian, my job – as I see it – is to speak truth to power. I knew as soon as I stepped foot on the Kennedy Center stage that I was standing in the giant footsteps of comics like Lenny Bruce, Mort Sahl, Dick Gregory, George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Paul Mooney, Wanda Sykes, Margaret Cho, Janeane Garofalo, and many others.
Meanwhile, as the show was approaching, none of us–not the Kennedy Center staff, not the Free DC Project, not me, and not even the audience–knew what the fuck was actually gonna happen when we showed up.
Is Trump going to send the National Guard to bar the doors at the Kennedy Center?
Is Trump going to send MAGA to Jan6 the Kennedy Center?
Is Trump gonna ride in at the end of my show with the Ku Klux Klan on horses to save the day in the style of D. W. Griffith’s The Birth of A Nation?
None of that happened. Before the show, I spoke outside briefly to the dance partiers. I expressed support for the LGBTQ+ community. I thanked them for showing up. I thanked them for being a good example for my daughters. And I closed by saying “FREE PALESTINE! FREE ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS! AND FREE ICE CREAM!”
And then it was showtime. My opening act was Dwayne Kennedy, one of my best friends and an incredible comic. The audience knew they were in for a rollicking night of comedians speaking truth to power when Dwayne, at the top of his set, said something to the effect of, “Welcome to the last time two Black guys are gonna be on stage at the Kennedy Center for quite some time.” Not only did the audience give one of those explosive pop-the-bubble-of-tension laughs, but there may (or may not) have been more than zero staff members backstage who laughed uproariously too. Or maybe I’m misremembering. (This is for the Trump administration, likely reading this.)
My first ten minutes or so (I really have no idea) were focused on Trump and his goons. And then I did the act that I had planned, but I turned the “wokey” up to eleven. After the show was over I spent over an hour doing a book signing set up by Mahogany Books, a Black woman-owned bookstore in DC.
Like any artist worth their salt, I wondered if I had actually done the job I had set out to do. The next day I stumbled across a New York Times article. It was mostly a report of the evening at The Kennedy Center, but buried in that article was a quote that has shot to the top of my favorite reviews of my work:
Mission accomplished. Let’s print it on t-shirts.
But of course, not everyone has agreed with my decision. People on social media have told me that I should have “stood with the other artists and canceled.” In fact some people are still telling me that I should cancel my Kennedy Center show even though the show has already happened (Oh algorithms!) A person today told me that since the new Kennedy Center has canceled an upcoming performance from the Gay Men’s Chorus that I should cancel my appearance in solidarity. I replied to the person’s comment by explaining how time works. I have been accused of being anti-Black woman because I didn’t do what Shonda Rimes and Issa Rae did. I have been accused of selling out. I did make a joke onstage that I didn’t cancel the gig because I have three kids who like to eat everyday. But all my friends know that’s my go-to dad joke. The truth is that I certainly didn’t do the gig for the money…or at least I didn’t do it just for the money. I have turned down more money to do things that I found politically objectionable. I once got an offer to go on a tour with Ann Coulter, Milo Yiannapolis, and Roger Stone. I couldn’t say “No” fast enough. If I had done that gig, I would have needed “buy an island money,” because I certainly wouldn’t be able to continue walking the streets of Oakland and Berkeley after that tour. Suffice to say, it wasn’t even close to that kind of money.
The truth is that I believe I did stand with the artists who resigned, who have refused to perform, and who are having their shows canceled. I just did it my way.
Michel Martin from NPR’s Morning Edition asked me if I was worried that by appearing at the Kennedy Center that I was validating ideas I don’t agree with. My answer surprised me with its frankness.
The feedback I have gotten from people who attended the show has let me know that I was my Black-ass self. Someone forwarded an email to my mom that read in part:
It was like a rebellion atmosphere… I also will say: never heard the F-word nor the N-word at the Kennedy Center before!
Mission accomplished, part two.
This moment is really all about making sure I’m living up to what my parents taught me. I was taught that our family shows up. We do the job that we have been hired to do, and we also do the job that we feel compelled to do to make sure that it is easier for the people behind us who aren’t lucky enough to be in our position. It was a privilege to be able to perform at the Kennedy Center that night, but not for the usual reasons. It was a privilege because I had an opportunity to speak truth to power in the house that power had just seized.
Who’s with me?
You’re With Me
The Who’s With Me? tour rolls on!
I’ll be announcing new dates next week, so keep your eyes peeled!
February Office Hours
Our February Office Hours are happening on Thursday 2/27 at 12pm PT / 3pm ET. Join me and a special guest Khalil Greene, the Gen Z Historian, to celebrate Black History Month.
Kahlil has a new substack called History Can’t Hide that you’ll probably love. And he has a new National Geographic series called Hidden History. We have so much to talk about, so join us.
Kamau, this is why you’re one of the real ones. 🙌🏾 The way you navigate these spaces—showing up, speaking truth, and making power uncomfortable while still making people think—is a masterclass. 🏆🔥
Also, that poster from your childhood? I need one for my house. Where can I grab a copy from a Black-owned business? Gotta make sure my walls stay properly energized. ⚡✊🏾
I'm taking bets how long The Kennedy Center will retain that name...