Everyone is aware of how President Donald Trump’s “zero tolerance” stance has separated children from their parents in border states. One response recently took place at the Great Hall at Cooper Union in lower Manhattan, where Concert for America was held to raise money for four nonprofit organizations working along our southern border to protect the civil and human rights of immigrant families: Al Otro Lado, the Texas Civil Rights Project, the ACLU Foundation of Texas and the Florence Project.

Concert for America, a moving concert of songs, comedy and commentary, was created by hosts Sirius XM’s Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley, who also organized the Broadway for Orlando/“What the World Needs Now Is Love” recording. Rudetsky and Wesley started Concert for America Jan. 20, 2017. It has toured the country with eclectic talent line-ups, with all concerts benefiting five national organizations fighting for civil, human and environmental rights.

Saturday’s line-up consisted of Broadway all-stars—six time Tony-winner Audra McDonald; Tony winners Idina Menzel, Brian Stokes Mitchell and Andrea Martin; Tony Award winner and Lifetime Achievement Tony Award winner Chita Rivera; Drama Desk Winner Mandy Gonzalez (“Hamilton”); Tony Award nominee and Emmy Award winner Tina Fey (“Mean Girls”); and Tony Award nominees Jeremy Jordan, Olga Merediz (“In the Heights”), Keala Settle (“The Greatest Showman”) and Patrick Wilson (“Insidious”). Broadway violinist Jorge Availa and singer/songwriter Shaina Taub also performed. Concert for America was broadcast via Facebook Live and at ConcertsforAmerica.com and was re-broadcast Sunday, July 8, at 9 p.m.

Rudetsky and Wesley spoke to the packed room in the Great Hall. “We started doing Concert for America to help nonprofits because of the event in November 2016 [Trump’s election],” Rudetsky said. “We started to put together this concert 10 days ago after seeing the images from the border a few weeks ago. James and I have been increasingly horrified at what’s going on with these families struggling at the border. Our friends suggested we put up another Concert For America to coincide with the upcoming day of national protests and, even though we had 10 days to plan it, we said, ‘Yes!’”

Wesley added, “These amazing performers agreed to appear as soon as we texted them! And these wonderful organizations are working right at the front lines, helping both parents and children during this perilous time at our southern border.”

Idina Menzel started the concert by singing “I See You.” Some of the words in the song say it all: “Here’s to the hopeless, the almost forgotten, to those lost along the way, I see you.” Menzel’s performance brought everyone to their feet as they clapped and shouted their approval and appreciation.

Chita Rivera gave a powerful performance of “America” from “West Side Story.” Rivera’s family is from Puerto Rico.

Mandy Gonzalez’s father is a Mexican-American migrant worker and her mother is Jewish. They have been happily married for 46 years. Lin Manual Miranda wrote “Fearless” for Gonzalez to sing about her family’s story and the story of many people with immigrant backgrounds in this country.

Olga Merediz was outstanding and brought chills to your body as she sang from “In the Heights,” “Paciencia y Fe,” a song about a young girl reflecting on the struggle she endured living in Cuba, and then coming to the United States for a better life. The shouts were deafening as she finished the number with such spirit and unbridled energy.

Rivera and her daughter Lisa Mordente sang “The Apple Doesn’t Fall,” from “The Rink.” Patrick Wilson beautifully sang “Breeze Off the River,” from “The Full Monty.” Wilson stated, “We try to share love, peace and inclusion in this country. My wife is an immigrant and she saw inclusion. I believe in America. I have two boys and I can’t fathom being separated from them.”

Jorge Avila, a violinist from Honduras, before playing a lovely, stunning rendition of “Summer Time” and “It Ain’t Necessarily So,” recalled, “I started playing the violin at the age of 14. I got a scholarship to come here. Honduras is one of the countries you’ve heard about in this mess, so this is personal for me.”

Audra McDonald gave a triumphant, moving performance of “Climb Every Mountain” from “The Sound of Music.” Shaina Taub and students from Brooklyn Youth Chorus performed her song “Huddled Masses” and it was wonderful. Andrea Martin spoke of her grandparents migrating from Armenia.

Tina Fey had two young people in the eighth and ninth grades, Brittany and Eddie Berto, read their original poems about migrating from Mexico. Brittany’s poem was entitled, “The Butterfly and the Border” and Eddie’s was “Global Citizen.”

Jeremy Jordan delivered a performance of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and “Home” from “The Wizard of Oz” and “The Wiz” that I will never forget! McDonald returned with Brian Stokes Mitchell and performed an exhilarating “Wheels of a Dream” from “Ragtime.” Keala Settle bought the house down when she performed “This Is Me,” from “The Greatest Showman,” and the concert ended with the cast singing “Let the Sunshine In!” What an event! Andrew Rannells and Matt Bomer sent a video message from backstage at “The Boys in the Band.”

Throughout the concert representatives from the four nonprofits came and spoke about what their organizations are doing for the families separated at the border. The Texas Civil Rights Project got access to the parents who were arrested for crossing the border and are federal defendants in detention centers and their children are also in detention centers elsewhere. They interviewed the parents to get their names, their children’s names and their country of origin.

There was the story of a woman from Guatemala whose husband was murdered and she crossed the border with her son to save his life. Another story is of a single father from Honduras who was separated from his daughter and had to tell her that she was going to summer camp to get her to leave his side and be taken to a detention center. The audience was very upset about what these families are facing under the order to separate children from their parents, with no plans to reunite them. For more information, you can contact the Texascivilrightproject.org.

The ACLU Foundation of Texas was represented by Terri Burke. When asked if there’s a lot of crime on the border, she replied, “Those are some of the safest communities in America. The crisis is this manufactured crisis. We got an injunction against the president’s zero tolerance policy. I urge you to jam the phones of the White House.”

Also from the ACLUTX, Adriana Pinon said, “The situation is inhumane and bleak. Families are now being detained together, but the American Academy of Pediatrics determined that detaining these people has lasting damage. This administration is seeking to do this on a massive scale and without end.” To learn more go to ACLUTX.org.

The Florence Project provides legal assistance to more than 500 detained minors. For more information and to see what you can do to help, go to FIIRP.org.

The Southern Property Law Center provides attorneys to adults in detention centers deep in the South. Michelle LaPointe, representing the SPLC, spoke of a father who came here requesting asylum and had a 6-year-old son with a heart condition. He was put into Stewart Detention Center and his son was taken away. The SPLC also has a lawsuit against the Detention Center for allegedly making the detainees work all day for $1. For more information, go to SPLCenter.org.

Al Otro Lado works to reunite parents with their children. One mother was reunited with her children after eight months. This mother was very emotional as she spoke and explained that they are not criminals and they don’t want welfare when they come here. If they could get their papers, they would be glad to work.

Nicole Ramos of Al Otro Lado stated, “We need good citizens to show them what America looks like. We accept people from diverse backgrounds. Contact congressmen, senators and demand an end of the family separations.”

Also in attendance were representatives from the NYACLU and the commissioner of the Administration for Children’s Services in New York. New York City has 300 of the displaced children. The commission, David Hansell, shared that the commission has asked the government what the children need, but the government won’t provide the information. To support the children who are in New York, one can contact 311 and connect with the Mayor’s Fund to Advance NYC.

Concert for America is created in association with Your Kids, Our Kids and with the generous support of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

For more information or to make a donation to Concert for America, visit www.ConcertsforAmerica.com, Facebook.com/ConcertForAmerica or @Concerts4USA.