The National Endowment for the Arts removed President Donald Trump’s “gender ideology” requirements from grant funding applications on Friday, following the ACLU’s lawsuit filed just one day prior.
Arts organization can now apply for funding without adhering to the president’s “anti-woke” eligibility criteria. Previously, projects that appeared to promote gender expression, including works surrounding transgender and non-binary stories, would not be eligible to receive funding from the NEA.
“We will continue to seek urgent relief against the NEA’s unconstitutional bar on projects that express messages the government does not like, but this is a huge step towards initial relief,” said Vera Eidelman, senior staff attorney at the ACLU. “We will not stop fighting until these new requirements are struck down for good.”
The ACLU in conjunction with four non-profit theater organizations sued the NEA on Thursday, challenging the new requirements. The plaintiffs claimed that the NEA’s new guidelines contradicted its previous rubric of “artistic merit and excellence.”
While the outcome of the case is still pending, organizations who now apply for funding by the March 11 deadline will not have to adhere to the president’s “gender ideology” standards. The ACLU and the supporting four theater organizations plan to continue to legally challenge this limitation before the full grant application deadline on March 24.
Rhode Island Latino Arts, National Queer Theater, The Theater Offensive and the Theatre Communications Group were the lead plaintiffs in the suit, filed by the ACLU. These theaters have all received funding from the NEA for various projects regarding gender expression in the past, but because of the new regulations are now being excluded.
The NEA guidelines are just one pillar of Trump’s attacks on the arts. About a month ago, the president took over the board of the Kennedy Center, the national performing arts center in D.C., and named himself chairman, replacing billionaire donor David Rubenstein.
Since the president assumed leadership, several artists have publicly stated they will not perform at the respected institution, including Issa Rae, Whoopi Goldberg and, most recently, a touring production of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “Hamilton.”
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