1. United States
2. Ohio
3. Letter

As I’ve dived deeper into the history of the Kennedy Center, I keep learning things I had absolutely no idea about. Countries from around the world gave extraordinary gifts to the Kennedy Center in memory of President John F. Kennedy. And I’m not talking about plaques or ceremonial gifts. I’m talking about marble, chandeliers, enormous theater curtains, tapestries, sculptures, silk, porcelain and works of art. Some of the details are incredible. 🇮🇹 Italy gave more than 3,700 tons of Carrara marble. It was quarried in Italy, cut specifically for the Kennedy Center and valued at more than $1 million at the time. Even its transportation to the United States was donated. The marble came from the same famous marble-producing region of Italy associated for centuries with artists including Michelangelo. 🇯🇵 Japan gave the enormous red and gold silk curtain for the Opera House. It measures 47 feet high and 117 feet wide, was designed in Kyoto and woven by a master weaver. Its design, “Springing Flowers,” symbolized progress. 🇸🇪 Sweden originally gave 18 crystal chandeliers for the Grand Foyer. Designed by Carl Fagerlund and made by Orrefors Glassworks, each was 15 feet long and contained 768 crystal prisms and 384 lamps. That’s 13,824 crystal prisms in the original gift. 🇳🇴 Norway originally gave 11 crystal chandeliers for the Concert Hall. 🇫🇷 France gave two Matisse tapestries and two sculptures by Henri Laurens. 🇮🇱 Israel furnished an entire Concert Hall lounge centered on Judaism and music, including 40 painted ceiling panels depicting biblical musical scenes and a monumental carved walnut work inspired by Psalm 150. 🇮🇳 India gave 20 hand-hammered brass planters for the Grand Foyer. 🇹🇭 Thailand gave Thai silk for wall coverings. 🇹🇷 Turkey gave four handmade and hand-decorated porcelain vases based on the design of a 15th-century piece in Istanbul’s Topkapi Palace. 🇨🇭 Switzerland gave a 500-pound sculpture. 🧶 Yugoslavia gave two wool tapestries, including one woven with gold thread. 🇦🇷 Argentina gave two oil paintings by Raquel Forner and a bronze sculpture by Libero Badii. 🇨🇦 Canada gave the curtain for the Eisenhower Theater. 🇮🇪 Ireland gave a chandelier for the Opera House. 🇦🇹 Austria gave chandeliers for the Opera House. 🇵🇰 Pakistan gave carpets. 🇧🇪 Belgium gave mirrors. 🇫🇮 Finland gave chinaware. 🇩🇰 Denmark contributed furnishings and artwork. And there were more. What struck me most was why these countries gave these things. The Congressional Record says it plainly: “Foreign nations have also memorialized the late President.” These weren’t simply decorations. They were pieces of art, craftsmanship and culture given by nations around the world as America created a living memorial to John F. Kennedy. More than 3,700 tons of Italian marble. A 117-foot Japanese silk curtain. Nearly 14,000 Swedish crystal prisms. Matisse tapestries. Indian brass. Turkish porcelain. Thai silk. A tapestry woven with gold thread. All brought together in Washington, D.C., in his memory. I never knew this before. And after learning all of this, I keep coming back to one thought: How embarrassing to look at a place built as a memorial to someone else, filled with extraordinary gifts from nations around the world given in his memory, and think your own name, especially one associated with so many crimes and suffering, belongs anywhere near it.