James L. Nederlander Apparently Pledges to Make Donation to Black Lives Matter
Chris Peterson, OnStage Blog Founder
In response to the growing outrage over his and his father’s six-figure donation to Donald Trump’s campaign in 2016, James L. Nederlander is apparently pledging to donate $50,000 to Black Lives Matter along with a statement.
According to an email obtained by OnStage Blog, this was an automated response to those reaching out to Mr. Nederlander.
The Nederlander Organization nor James L. Nederlander hasn’t made a public comment, so we can’t officially confirm this.
Since our initial report into looking into the Nederlander’s political donation trends, many have begun to call the head of the Nederlander Organization for donating to a candidate that openly promised to limit the freedoms of those who were performing on Nederlander stages.
Tony-winning actress Karen Olivo posted a message on her social media that she would no longer work with theatres or individuals who made such contributions. It was soon followed by others with the same vow such as Wicked actress Eden Espinosa.
So does this supposed donation pledge suffice?
First of all, it’s not my call to make. The Nederlanders didn’t profit off of my talent to line the pockets of Donald Trump.
In our initial piece, I called for James L. Nederlander to at least make a public statement of support for Black Lives Matter along with a donation. He’s done that.
But his donation to Black Lives Matter is just below a third of what he and his father gave to Trump and the GOP in 2016. And his statement is only being made public due to private email responses.
So, in my opinion, if James L. Nederlander wants to start to make this right, his donation to Black Lives Matter either needs to match what he gave to Trump or surpass it. And his statement needs to include an apology along with an explanation of why he gave to Trump in the first place. The BIPOC’s who performed on his stages deserve that much. And if he wants to regain their trust, then he needs to explain what about Donald Trump in June of 2016 moved him and his father to donate six-figures to support him getting elected.
Then they can start to talk about understanding and change.