Will "Hamilton" Be Canceled?

BY JACK CROWE

July 06, 2020

THIS IS TOBIAS HOONHOUT FILLING IN FOR JACK CROWE, WHO IS OFF THIS WEEK.

As Americans celebrated the 244th birthday of the United States this past weekend, the release of Hamilton — one of the most significant American cultural productions of the last decade — to the masses via streaming served as a Rorschach test for a country rocked by national unrest and exasperated by a global pandemic.

Just one year ago, the musical’s creative appeal and its historical value would have received near-universal acclaim. But in the current climate, where the virtue of the country’s Founding Fathers is suddenly an open question, the reception was far more mixed. Hamilton mastermind Lin-Manuel Miranda, who felt compelled to blame himself for the "moral failure" of not commenting on George Floyd’s death fast enough, is already being called a “Puerto Rican Uncle Tom” by battier activists on the left.

Agree that the Jefferson Memorial should come down? Then Hamilton is likely problematic. President Trump’s Friday speech in front of Mount Rushmore took a decidedly different view.

“We will never allow an angry mob to tear down our statues, erase our history, indoctrinate our children, or trample on our freedoms,” the president said. “We will safeguard our values, traditions, customs, and beliefs. We will teach our children to cherish and adore their country so that they can build its future.”

In a hyper-partisan climate, Trump’s rhetoric naturally shooed Democrats into the opposite corner. As if on cue, Senator Tammy Duckworth (D., Ill.) — reportedly on Joe Biden’s shortlist for vice president — told CNN’s Dana Bash that “we should listen to the argument” for removing statues of George Washington.

The ongoing conversation about our country’s heritage is the latest fixation of the news cycle, and there will be plenty of ink spilled on the subject in the coming days. But COVID-19 remains a pressing concern. You will read a lot about the skyrocketing case growth — though that statistic does not tell the whole story — but also track the shrinking number of available ICU beds in states such as Arizona and Texas and shuttered economic reopenings show that the virus isn’t simply “going to sort of disappear,” as the president hoped last week (and speculated throughout February and March).

Atlanta Mayor Orders Protesters to ‘Clear Out’ After 8-Year-Old Girl Fatally Shot

The mayor of Atlanta is forcing protesters to “clear out” of the Wendy’s where a police officer fatally shot Rayshard Brooks last month after a violent night that included a dozen shootings citywide and the death of an 8-year-old girl, the mayor said Sunday.

“You shot and killed a baby,” Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said at a news conference. “Enough is enough.”

Secoriea Turner was shot and killed less than a half mile from the Wendy’s, which had become a place of memorial and protest since Brooks’s death on June 12. Three suspects have been arrested on suspicion of arson after protesters set the fast-food joint ablaze the day after Brooks’s death. (NBC)

‘We Should Listen to the Argument’ for Removing George Washington Statues, Says Senator Duckworth

Senator Tammy Duckworth (D., Ill.) said that “we should listen to the argument for removing George Washington statues” in an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union Sunday.

Statues of slave-owning historical figures such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson have become the latest target of the nationwide racial reckoning sparked by the death of George Floyd in police custody this summer.

When asked by CNN’s Dana Bash if she supported taking down monuments of leaders who were slave owners, as she has expressed support of changing military bases named after Confederate leaders, Duckworth instead initially took aim at President Trump’s Mount Rushmore speech on Friday. (CNN)

Frederick Douglass Statue in Rochester Vandalized on 168th Anniversary of Famous Speech He Gave There

Police in Rochester, N.Y., are looking for the vandals who tore down a Frederick Douglass statue on the 168th anniversary of his deliverance of a speech titled, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July” in the city.

The statue was found discarded over a fence a few feet away from its base in Maplewood Park, located along the Underground Railroad.

Re-energize the legacy of Frederick Douglass, the group that had erected the statue, told WROC-TV they believed the current national focus on race could have been a cause for the statue’s untimely removal. (RochesterFirst)

Texas Cities Concerned Coronavirus Cases Could Overwhelm Hospitals within Two Weeks

A number of Texas cities are warning that the level of hospitalized coronavirus patients they are experiencing could cause hospitals to run out of beds in as little as two weeks.

Officials in Austin, San Antonio, Houston, and Fort Worth have cautioned that their intensive-care units are on track to be overwhelmed as coronavirus cases continue to rise rapidly across the state.

Texas hit a new high on Sunday of 8,181 people hospitalized for the coronavirus. Texas still has more than 13,000 available staffed hospital beds, including more than 1,200 available staffed ICU beds, but some cities are approaching capacity more quickly than other regions. (Texas Tribune)

Hong Kong Denies Bail to First Person Charged under New National-Security Law

Hong Kong has charged a man with terrorism and denied him bail under the territory’s strict new national-security law, making him the first person to be charged under the controversial law recently imposed by China.

Tong Ying-kit, 23, carried a “Liberate Hong Kong” sign and drove his motorcycle into police, knocking over and injuring several officers, video footage of the incident showed.

Ying-kit appeared Friday in court in a wheelchair after suffering injuries during the incident. He remains in custody, and his case has been adjourned until October 6. (Reuters)