LeVar Burton believes there should be separation of art and politics. 

The Star Trek: The Next Generation actor opened up on Thursday about his concerns for the future of the industry amid President Donald Trump’s overhaul of the Kennedy Center.

“I don’t believe that arts should be a part of a political conversation,” Burton told The Hollywood Reporter at The Creative Coalition’s inaugural National Arts Advocacy Summit. “Arts are above politics, at least they should be. Sure, there’s politics in everything, but arts should be outside of that sphere of rhetoric because this is about humanity.”

Following Trump’s return to power, he opted to “immediately terminate multiple individuals from the Board of Trustees,” he wrote in a post on Truth Social last Friday. From there, Trump was named chairman of the Kennedy Center in a vote that also led to the organization’s longstanding president Deborah Rutter being fired.

Burton added that it was important for him to attend the summit because “arts are at risk” and have “been for a long time.” As a storyteller, he explained that the Creative Coalition “advocates for the arts and society and brings attention to how important” art is to “humanity.”

“I’m old enough to remember when we stopped having music education in schools, and that was unfathomable to me,” Burton said. “Now it’s normal, and I don’t want to pass on a world where storytelling is an archaic art form because that’s not okay.”

To enact change, the former Reading Rainbow host believes “we continue to do what we do as artists, which is to do what we can to enhance our journey along our way” while also bringing “awareness” to the issues at hand through storytelling. 

The Kennedy Center honors the performing arts, offering space for various theater, dance and music performances. The center, too, notably oversees the National Symphony Orchestra and the Washington National Opera. In the wake of Trump’s sudden changes, Shonda Rhimes resigned from the Kennedy Center board, and Issa Rae canceled a forthcoming sold-out appearance at the Kennedy Center. 

Additionally, new Kennedy Center board members were announced, including Trump, Susie Wiles, Dan Scavino, Allison Lutnick, Lynda Lomangino, Mindy Levine, Usha Vance, Pamela Gross, John Falconetti, Cheri Summerall, Sergio Gor, Emilia May Fanjul, Patricia Duggan and Dana Blumberg.