Editing Leonard Bernstein (section)

=== Civil rights ===
Bernstein expressed his support of civil rights in the United States in numerous ways. Some examples include multiracial casting in ''[[On the Town (musical)|On the Town]]'' in the 1940s, instigating blind auditions at the New York Philharmonic in the 1960s and the robust support of artists of color in classical music.<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 19, 2019 |title=Leonard Bernstein's Black America {{!}} WQXR Features |url=https://www.wqxr.org/story/leonard-bernsteins-black-america |access-date=December 5, 2023 |publisher=[[WQXR-FM|WQXR]]}}</ref>

On March 24, 1965, at the invitation of [[Harry Belafonte]], Bernstein participated in the Stars for Freedom Rally, a star-studded performance in support of the marchers heading from [[Selma to Montgomery marches|Selma to Montgomery]] to demand voting rights. The next day, [[Martin Luther King Jr.]], the leader of the march, delivered one of his most famous speeches, "[[How Long, Not Long]]".<ref name=Alabama />

==== "Radical Chic" ====
On January 14, 1970, Bernstein and his wife Felicia held an event at their Manhattan apartment seeking to raise awareness and funds for the defense of members of the [[Black Panther Party]], known as the [[Panther 21]].<ref name="loc2010">{{cite web |title=Radical Chic |url=http://myloc.gov/Exhibitions/hopeforamerica/causesandcontroversies/polarization/ExhibitObjects/RadicalChic.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120725171227/http://myloc.gov/Exhibitions/hopeforamerica/causesandcontroversies/polarization/ExhibitObjects/RadicalChic.aspx |archive-date=July 25, 2012 |access-date=December 12, 2010 |work=Hope for America: Performers, Politics and Pop Culture |publisher=Library of Congress}}</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'' initially covered the gathering in its society section, but later published an editorial harshly unfavorable to Bernstein.<ref name="nyt_false_note">{{cite news|title=False Note on Black Panthers|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/01/16/archives/false-note-on-black-panthers.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=January 16, 1970|page=38}}</ref><ref name="nymag_html">{{cite web |last=Wolfe |first=Tom |author-link=Tom Wolfe |id="Tom Wolfe on Radical Chic and Leonard Bernstein's Party for the Black Panthers" |url= https://nymag.com/news/features/46170/index15.html |title=Radical Chic: That Party at Lenny's |work=[[New York (magazine)|New York]] |date=April 15, 2008 |access-date=December 11, 2010}}</ref>

The story became widely publicized, climaxing in June of that year with the appearance of "[[Radical Chic & Mau-Mauing the Flak Catchers|Radical Chic: That Party at Lenny's]]", a cover story by journalist [[Tom Wolfe]] in ''[[New York Magazine]]''.<ref name="nymag1970">{{cite news |url=https://nymag.com/docs/07/05/070529radical_chic.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221010/https://nymag.com/docs/07/05/070529radical_chic.pdf |archive-date=October 10, 2022 |url-status=live |title=Radical Chic: that Party at Lenny's |last=Wolfe |first=Tom |author-link=Tom Wolfe |date=June 8, 1970 |work=[[New York (magazine)|New York]] |access-date=March 1, 2010}}</ref> The article led to the popularization of the pejorative term "[[radical chic]]".<ref name="economist2009">{{cite news |title=Leonard Bernstein: A political life |url=http://www.economist.com/node/13726549 |newspaper=[[The Economist]]|access-date=December 12, 2010 |date=May 28, 2009}}</ref> Bernstein and his wife Felicia received hate mail, and their building was picketed by [[Jewish Defense League]] protesters. Bernstein's FBI file later revealed that the Bureau had generated the letters, and had implanted agents to make the protests look more substantial.<ref name="nyt_letter">{{cite news|last=Bernstein|first=Felicia M.|author-link=Felicia Montealegre Bernstein|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1970/01/21/79095992.html?pageNumber=46|title=Letters to the Editor of ''The Times'': Panthers' Legal Aid|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|page=46|date=January 21, 1970}}</ref><ref name="carnegie_best">{{cite web |title=The Social Activist |url=http://www.carnegiehall.org/bernstein/leonardbernstein/socialactivist.aspx |work=Bernstein: The Best of All Possible Worlds |publisher=[[Carnegie Hall]] Corporation |access-date=December 12, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101223194131/http://www.carnegiehall.org/bernstein/leonardbernstein/socialactivist.aspx |archive-date=December 23, 2010 }}</ref>