Scooter Braun will be honored at the 30th annual ADL Concert Against Hate in November, the anti-hate organization announced Thursday.
The recognition will be completed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 18 and comes after the music mogul’s Oct. 7 memorial exhibition on the Nova Music Festival massacre, “06:29 am — The Moment Music Stood Still,” finished its sold-out run in New York City and before it opens in Los Angeles Saturday.
“On Oct. 7, the largest massacre in the history of music took place at the Nova Music Festival and in response, too many in our industry stayed silent. Over 400 innocent music lovers were murdered and over 40 taken hostage and many still waiting to come home,” Braun said of the historic Hamas terrorist attack in a statement to media. “Music must always be a safe place, and the silence was deafening.”
“Alongside Joe Teplow, Josh Kadden and the amazing organizers of Nova, we were able to bring this exhibit to fruition in New York, and now Los Angeles. Our goal is to have all people see themselves through their own love of music and live concerts. I am honored and humbled to accept this award and accept it on behalf of the amazing tribe of Nova. We can’t and should not look away … and we must dance again.”
Speaking with TheWrap, Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt applauded Braun as a “music legend and philanthropist” and ultimately the leader needed to help the world heal in the aftermath of such a deadly, unprecedented attack.
“He found such a beautiful way to help us remember those who were lost. It really just blew me away,” Greenblatt said of seeing the exhibit in New York. “I’m thrilled we have the opportunity to honor him. It really is going to be a special day, in general and specifically, in order to recognize how he’s used his platform and his reach to share these stories of loss, but also of survival and strength.”
Braun has been an outspoken industry leader over the last year in rallying financial and political support around those suffering in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attacks. New York Mayor Eric Adams recognized him in May for his efforts to encourage peace during the annual Jewish Heritage Celebration at Gracie Mansion. And he additionally launched the Care Together campaign in March, where he donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Care International and the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
In the months since Oct. 7, the Tribe of Nova, the organizing body behind Nova music events, has embraced the slogan, “We will dance again.” The phrase is fittingly displayed around Braun’s “06:29” exhibit.
“I get goosebumps when I think about it,” Greenblatt said. “I mean, these people experienced such severe, unspeakable trauma, and yet their response is not to have revenge or hate in their heart. It goes back to the power of love and peace that I think was epitomized by the music festival in the first place. And it goes back to the way that we beat haters with love, the way that we combat antipathy and despair with optimism, with energy. And I see that in this exhibit.”
Of Braun, Greenblatt added: “I so appreciate what he’s doing. Our event is going to be really just a special night.”
Previous honorees at the ADL Concert Against Hate include individuals and groups such as Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), Ruby Bridges, Gavin Grimm, Daniel Pearl, Imam Abdullah Antepli, Olivia Coley-Pearson, Tova Friedman and Aron Goodman, Judy and Dennis Shepard, Susan Bro and Eva Kor.
Additional details of this year’s program, including who’s following in the shoes of last year’s emcee Julianna Margulies, have yet to be announced. More information on the concert event can be found here.
Leave a Reply