Censorship has reared its ugly head on a truly alarming level – but we’re fighting back with music, protest and collective action.

First, in early September, Local 802 took part in a joint celebration/demonstration organized by MoveOn that honored the 10th anniversary of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” – and also demonstrated against CBS’s cancellation of the program days after Colbert called out Paramount Global’s $16 million settlement with Donald Trump. Musicians who perform on the show are members of Local 802 covered by an AFM contract.

The event featured a parade led by Local 802 members of the Five Borough Brass to the Ed Sullivan Theatre followed by a Colbert lookalike contest judged by celebrity guests, giveaways for fans waiting in line for the show, and a delivery of more than 143,000 petition signatures to Paramount Global headquarters from fans and advocates pushing back on corporate capitulation and demanding Colbert stay on-air. In tandem with these events, MoveOn launched a billboard in Times Square projecting “You Can’t Cancel the Truth: Keep Colbert On-Air.”

Local 802 President Bob Suttmann said in a statement, “The cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert without clear explanation is deeply concerning and raises serious questions about the broader implications for free expression and artistic freedom…Colbert’s cancellation threatens not only the livelihoods of the world-class musicians who perform on the show, it also undermines the fundamental principles of free speech and creative expression that are cornerstone values of our industry and our nation….When censorship is used as a tool to quash free speech, we must stand up together. What’s happening now is not only wrong, it goes against what we must stand for as a nation…Local 802 stands by our members and also in solidarity with our sisters and brothers in labor who work on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”

Then, a few weeks later, in late September, censorship made national news again when ABC took “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” off the air.  Local 802 musicians participated in a joint rally with the Writers Guild of America on Sept. 19 and AFM President Tino Gagliardi issued this statement: “This is not complicated: Trump’s FCC identified speech it did not like and threatened ABC with extreme reprisals. This is state censorship. It’s now happening in the United States of America, not some far-off country. It’s happening right here and right now. This act by the Trump Administration represents a direct attack on free speech and artistic expression. These are fundamental rights that we must protect in a free society. The American Federation of Musicians strongly condemns the decision to take Jimmy Kimmel Live! off the air. We stand in solidarity with all those who will be without work because of government overreach.”

A few days later, Tino spoke with Boris Sanchez on CNN. “This isn’t just about one show—it’s about freedom of speech and control of artistic expression,” he said. 

Then, almost a week after his suspension, Kimmel was reinstated after the public outcry got too intense for network executives to ignore.

Although Kimmel’s reinstatement was welcome, let me say this. Censorship can occur in many different ways. Official censorship, where a government actively removes art from society or threatens reprisals, is one thing – and that’s bad enough. But this also leads to self censorship, when people voluntarily censor themselves in order to curry favor with the ruling party (or try to avoid being punished). 

Both forms of censorship are part of the authoritarian playbook. Local 802 and the labor movement will not be silent in the face of attacks on free speech.And, as we can see, fighting back does make a difference.

What we cannot do is bury our heads in the sand or give up. A wise union organizer once said that all organizing comes down to hope vs. fear. Union busters and dictators both thrive on fear. We can counter this fear by making sure that our music, words and actions are adding hope to the world. And every victory – like Jimmy Kimmel’s reinstatement or winning a fair union contract – gives us more inspiration, courage and resilience to keep on fighting.