Jane Fonda Revives a 1970 Committee for a First Amendment Concert in New York

The Committee for the First Amendment, originally formed in 1970 to push back against Nixon-era attacks on the press, has been revived. Jane Fonda, a founding member of the original committee, quietly reactivated it in 2025 during the first year of the second Trump administration. Its first public gathering is a concert.

On Sunday, June 14, in New York City, Rise Up, Sing Out: A Concert for the First Amendment will run for 90 minutes and stream online for free. Fonda will appear alongside Patti Smith, Rufus Wainwright, Bette Midler, Joy Reid, Sasha Allen, and the Broadway Inspirational Voices. It is not a rally, but a performance. Music that carries the weight of a specific political moment.

Proceeds go directly to the committee’s work. National partner organizations and local civic groups are hosting watch parties across the country. Fonda, in announcing the event, pointed to music’s long role in resisting authoritarianism. The lineup, ranging from folk to punk to cabaret, is as much a nod to dissent traditions as it is a bill of performers.

The concert signals more than a one-off event. It ties a 55-year-old fight over free expression to the current moment, with a group of artists who have rarely shared a stage in this configuration. The stream will be available nationwide.