Public Program
Blacklists Through the Ages
Sunday, April 26, 2026 3–4:30 pm
Current Exhibition
Blacklisted: An American Story
Step into one of the most charged moments in American history.
Blacklisted: An American Story explores the Hollywood blacklist and the federal government’s loyalty investigations that upended thousands of lives during the Red Scare. Through powerful personal stories, rare artifacts, and film clips, the exhibition reveals how fear, politics, and identity collided—and what was lost when dissent was silenced.
This timely exhibition explores the intersections of politics, antisemitism, freedom of speech, and national security during the Red Scare of the 1940s and 1950s. With the rise of the Cold War and global Communism, anxiety over Soviet infiltration fanned fears in the United States.
Numerous industries, including Hollywood and the federal government, purged those accused or suspected of being Communists—many of whom were Jews. In fact, “Jewish” often served as a stand-in for “Communist.”
From the late 1940s through the 1950s, all three branches of government—executive, legislative, and judicial—sacrificed First Amendment rights in the name of security. Freedoms of speech, association, and assembly—all protected by the US Constitution—came under fire. Hundreds of people lost their jobs, thousands resigned under duress, and many more stood by quietly, afraid of repercussions for their real or imagined political participation.
Hollywood celebrities arrive in Washington: Marsha Hunt, David Hopkins, Richard Conte, Ralph Alswang, June Havoc, John Huston, Paul Henreid, Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Joseph Sistrom, Evelyn Keyes, Danny Kaye, Jane Wyatt, Geraldine Brooks and Ira Gershwin, 1947. Courtesy of the Jewish Museum Milwaukee.
Chris Ferenzi Photography
Key Themes & Highlights
- The rise of the Hollywood Ten and the entertainment industry’s role in shaping public opinion
- The federal employee loyalty program, which scrutinized and dismissed thousands of civil servants
- Jewish Americans’ experiences navigating accusation and identity during a time of fear and antisemitism
- The courage of individuals who resisted conformity—from screenwriters and teachers to government clerks and lawyers
- Archival materials, film clips, and oral histories that connect past debates about loyalty and dissent to those we face today
Blacklisted: An American Story, on loan from Jewish Museum Milwaukee, incorporates film, personal narratives, objects, costume, and photography to examine the shifting definition of what it meant then—and what it means now—to be a patriotic American, and who gets to decide. The Capital Jewish Museum expands on the original presentation about the Hollywood Blacklist to include a look at the Red Scare’s impact on federal employees in the nation’s capital.
This special exhibition is made possible in part by Lead supporters Richard Small Alper, the Nussdorf Family, and David Bruce Smith, Grateful American Foundation; Major supporters Marcella and Neil Cohen, Bob and Kate Giaimo, and Howard Morse and Laura Loeb; and Additional supporters Cooley LLP, Linda and Eli Frank, the Karchem Raizes Family, Samuel Lehrman, Wilma Probst-Levy, Silver Diner, Pat and Robert Silverman, John Tolleris, and Bob Tracy and Martha Gross.
Exhibition donors as of March 1, 2026.
For sponsorship information about Blacklisted: An American Story, please contact Malki Karkowsky, Chief Advancement Officer, at 202-290-2593.
