While Senator Joe McCarthy, famous for his anti-communist crusades, has been dead for sixty-eight years, the fear of left-wing political activity is only growing. To combat this, Jane Fonda, actor, daughter of actor Henry Fonda, and longtime progressive activist, has brought the Committee for the First Amendment back into action more than seventy years after its dissolution.
The Committee for the First Amendment was started in 1947 by actors, directors, and writers in Hollywood to resist the House Un-American Activities Committee’s (HUAC) persecutions of artists suspected of being Communist Party members. Those suspected of being communists were then “blacklisted,” which often ruined their careers as entertainers.
Membership of the committee included many famous celebrities of the period: Lucille Ball, Bette Davis, Gene Kelly, Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra and Henry Fonda. The members of the Committee protested HUAC hearings in Washington, D.C., seeking to defend those in the entertainment industry that were being blacklisted.
Now, the Committee for the First Amendment’s new website includes an exhaustive list of around 600 people in the entertainment industry who desire to make a statement against censorship in the media. Some of the names include Aaron Sorkin, Billie Eilish, Natalie Portman, John Legend, and Pedro Pascal.
Its mission is, as stated on their website, “to defend free expression against government repression, industry complicity, and intimidation.” The Committee seeks to have a collective force to prevent artists and entertainers from navigating President Trump and his administration’s attacks on their work alone. The solidarity the Committee hopes to provide will be vital as President Trump continues to crack down on attempts to criticize his administration in the media.
On Instagram, the Committee called out the Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, for her remarks regarding Zach Bryan’s new song lyrics about ICE. They stated that “the government can’t punish, censor, or silence you for what you have to say,” establishing their commitment to protecting the freedom of speech for artists.
Though it is still only the beginning of their reemergence as a united group, the Committee for the First Amendment might be an important resource going forward for ensuring free speech in the media.
