On March 6, 2025, the ACLU; the ACLU of Rhode Island; Lynette Labinger, cooperating attorney for the ACLU of Rhode Island; and David Cole filed a federal lawsuit against the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA),
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Artists and theater groups are challenging a new certification requirement and funding prohibition that the National Endowment ... to community arts centers,” said Vera Eidelman, senior staff attorney at the ACLU.
The plaintiffs: Rhode Island Latino Arts, The Theater Offensive, which is a Boston organization dedicated to arts by queer and trans people of color, National Queer Theater in New York, and Theater Communications Group, a national organization made up of more than 650 member theaters and organizations and over 3,000 individual members.