Rocking the Vote in Cleveland, D.C.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland and the Newseum in Washington are teaming on an exhibit exploring "the power of rock to change attitudes about patriotism, peace, equality and freedom."

The exhibit, "Louder than Words: Rock, Power and Politics," will debut May 20 at the Cleveland-based rock museum—the Republican National Convention is being held in that city July 18-21—then move on Jan. 20, 2017 to the Newseum in time for the inauguration of a new President.

The exhibit will look at how rock musicians exercised their First Amendment rights to influence the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War and gender equality, the museums asserted announcing the new exhibit.

Artifacts of that influence will include John Lennon's guitar used in his "Give Peace a Chance" bed-in for peace with Yoko Ono in Montreal. Other exhibit paraphernalia have yet to be revealed.

“It’s especially significant that an exhibit of this nature will be taking place here at the Newseum in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol during a time when millions of people will be in Washington to experience democracy in action," said Jeffrey Herbst, president of the Newseum.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.