‘The Kennedy Center Is Bigger Than Any President’ (Editorial, Sept. 25)
It is important to look at the current controversy over the renaming of the Kennedy Center in the context of previous renaming of federal buildings. In 1964, Congress, not the White House, changed the name of the institution from the National Cultural Center to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in federal law. If Congress wants to change that statutory name, it can do so by enacting new legislation.
There is ample precedent for Congress changing the names of federally authorized buildings. In 2007, Congress redesignated the Clifford Davis Federal Building in Memphis as the Clifford Davis and Odell Horton Federal Building. In 2021, Congress again changed the name, this time to the Odell Horton Federal Building. In 2024, Congress redesignated a Detroit federal building as the Rosa Parks Federal Building and explicitly repealed two earlier congressional naming laws governing that building.
These examples demonstrate that Congress has historically used legislation to change names established by Congress. They also provide a straightforward way to resolve the dispute over the Kennedy Center. If its statutory name should be changed, Congress should pass a bill doing so. Congressional naming authority should not be replaced by unilateral action by board members largely appointed by the president. This was recently affirmed by U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper who ruled that Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name and only Congress could change it. The Kennedy Center was created by federal legislation and bears a name established by that legislation. Changing that name should likewise be accomplished through legislation.
Beryl Rosenstein, Pikesville
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