National Trust, Mid-Fight with Trump over White House Ballroom and Kennedy Center, Elects New President

The board of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a Congressionally chartered nonprofit involved in lawsuits against Donald Trump’s plans for a new White House ballroom and a reimagined John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, elected Brent Leggs as its new president and chief executive.

As reported by the New York Times, Leggs—who has worked for the organization for more than 20 years—“becomes the 11th leader of the trust since it was formed in 1949 to help safeguard historically and culturally significant U.S. sites, buildings and objects.”

Leggs was previously executive director of the National Trust’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, a grant program that supported projects including protection for boxer Joe Frazier’s historic training gym and the restoration of singer Nina Simone’s childhood home in North Carolina—the latter led by artists Adam Pendleton, Rashid Johnson, and Julie Mehretu. He was also a strategic adviser for previous National Trust leader Carol Quillen, who is leaving for family reasons.

In an interview with the Times, referring to the two recently filed lawsuits against Trump, Leggs said, “Legal advocacy is the last resort, but it had to be deployed. As incoming C.E.O. of the National Trust I remain in support of the organization’s position.”

In reference to the National Trust’s work to support programs of diverse and eclectic kinds, he said, “Telling a full American story is not about erasure. We will continue to advocate for an inclusive American story.”