Andrew Breitbart Freedom Center Honors a Fearless Hero of Liberty
MARCH 1, 2016 – The Heartland Institute today announced the event space in its new headquarters in Arlington Heights, Illinois will be known as the “Andrew Breitbart Freedom Center.” The Heartland Institute is a 32-year-old national nonprofit organization devoted to advancing free markets and individual liberty.
The new Andrew Breitbart Freedom Center features state-of-the-art digital technology, including the ability to live-stream socially shareable and interactive events on Heartland’s YouTube page. In addition to hosting its own events on a weekly schedule, Heartland is making the meeting space available free of charge to conservative, libertarian, and other liberty-centric groups for organizing and training activists, speeches and panel discussions, public-speaking instruction and practice sessions, movie screenings, and more.
Breitbart, who died suddenly on March 1, 2012 at the age of 43, was a pioneer who created his own media empire to fight back against the liberal mainstream media and give voice to conservatives, libertarians, and free-market capitalism. Andrew Breitbart’s family and the company he founded, the Breitbart News Network, gave Heartland permission to honor him with the naming of the Andrew Breitbart Freedom Center.
“Andrew Breitbart was a genuine American hero. He inspired millions of people to stand up and speak the truth about what is happening in America,” said Joseph Bast, president of The Heartland Institute. “We could not be more pleased to have his name forever affixed to The Heartland Institute. We are honored that his family and friends believe this connection is a suitable addition to his legacy.”
Watch a video of Bast talking about Heartland honoring Andrew Breitbart below or at this link. To book Bast or another Heartland guest to talk about this on your program, please contact Director of Communications Jim Lakely at [email protected] and 312/377-4000 or (cell) 312/731-9364.
“Andrew’s children and I, along with his extended family, are grateful that The Heartland Institute is keeping his memory alive and continuing to honor his important work, about which he was so very passionate,” said Susie Breitbart.
“Andrew was a tribune for the little guy — the Tea Party movement conservatives that get most of the hard work done,” said Steven K. Bannon, Breitbart News Executive Chairman. “To have his name in a place of honor within an organization like Heartland Institute is a tremendous recognition of his memory.”
“We are both thankful and honored that Andrew’s legacy is being acknowledged so thoughtfully at The Heartland Institute’s new headquarters,” said Larry Solov, president and CEO of Breitbart News Network. “Andrew always appreciated The Heartland Institute’s efforts to promote individual liberty, limited government, and the free-market. We hope that the Andrew Breitbart Freedom Center will be a home for the innovation of thought and vigorous exchange of ideas that Andrew so cherished and The Heartland Institute represents.”
Breitbart was the long-time confidant of Matt Drudge and was instrumental in the continued growth and influence of the Drudge Report as its chief editor. He also helped found The Huffington Post before moving on to found Big Hollywood and Big Journalism – sites that would eventually become Breitbart.com, which remains one of the most popular and influential news sites in the world.
In 2005, Breitbart wrote with Mark C. Ebner the book Hollywood, Interrupted: Insanity Chic in Babylon – The Case Against Celebrity. His last book was Righteous Indignation: Excuse Me While I Save the World, released in 2011. In 2014, documentary film company Citizens United established the “Andrew Breitbart Defender of the First Amendment Award,” given every year at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).
A dedication ceremony for the Andrew Breitbart Freedom Center will take place this summer, featuring a screening of Hating Breitbart,a documentary about Andrew Breitbart’s enormous impact on the media and the culture that was released one year after his death.
The Heartland Institute’s mission is to discover, develop, and promote free-market solutions to social and economic problems. For more information, visit our Web site heartland.org or call 312/377-4000.
Joseph Bast is a Senior Fellow at The Heartland Institute. He cofounded Heartland in 1984, serving as executive director then as president & CEO until January 2018. His research and writing focuses on climate change and energy policy.
