08/27/2026
In a rare moment in 2005 Condoleeza Rice took to the stage at the Kennedy Center in support of raising dollars and awareness for pulmonary hypertension, a rare, fatal lung disease.
Rice played selections from Mozart and Verdi, and accompanied Charity Sunshine Tillemann-Dick, a soprano opera singer and Fulbright scholar. Charity also had pulmonary hypertension. As the granddaughter of Representative Tom Lantos, her talent, diagnosis, and connection to politics placed her in a unique position to help advocate for others with this disease and for research to help find a cure.
It was a beautiful night of bipartisan support coming together in hopes for brighter futures for the pulmonary hypertension community. It was Rice’s idea, “We have to do something about this and enhance public consciousness. Let’s have a concert, and I will accompany her on the piano.”
Using her sphere of influence and power for good, Secretary of State Rice stepped outside of her political role and became an artist supporting another artist that night. Charity passed away in 2019.
I was 25 and working at my first job out of undergrad at the Pulmonary Hypertension Association when I was assigned as part of the team to work on this event. I watched as political figures from across the aisle shook hands behind the curtains, agreeing that this disease needed awareness, research, and a cure. I got to witness something we don’t see anymore, politicians agreeing and working together for something greater than their own interests for vulnerable people who need help.
Art is hope. Art transforms. Art advocates. Art transcends. Art unifies. Art levels the playing field.
The Kennedy Center has been home to artists and audiences. It’s a swirl in the fingerprint of our nation’s capital. It’s a museum of memories, of performances for entertainment, education, and events that bring us together for causes that are greater than our own self interest.
The Kennedy Center is a sacred space for the arts, for people. It is not a token to dangle threats of destruction.
To help advocate for the preservation of this space visit the link in our bio.
