{"id":175,"date":"2026-06-04T15:41:02","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T15:41:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/?p=175"},"modified":"2026-06-04T15:41:02","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T15:41:02","slug":"activities-around-the-250th-highlight-americas-disunity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/?p=175","title":{"rendered":"Activities around the 250th highlight America’s disunity"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

One month from America\u2019s 250th birthday, events and celebrations to commemorate the adoption of the Declaration of Independence are as fragmented as the nation\u2019s politics and culture in 2026.<\/p>\n

Read more The GOP push to \u2018love thy neighbor\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for a concert affiliated with the Great American State Fair in the weeks leading up to July 4 have been replaced by a campaign-style MAGA rally after most of the artists invited to perform on the National Mall opted out because of the partisan nature of the event.<\/p>\n

America250, the bipartisan commission established by Congress to plan for the \u201csemiquincentennial,\u201d remains the central organizer, but its efforts to get all 350 million Americans to participate in various ways have been overshadowed in recent weeks by the White House sponsor of events, Freedom 250.<\/p>\n

And while the two main 250 organizations vie for attention, scores of other groups, both local and national, are planning their own activities, some of them presented as attempts to counter the \u201cTrump whitewash\u201d of the United States\u2019 first two-and-a-half centuries.<\/p>\n

A coalition of groups led by All of U.S. 250 and Next 250 plan a \u201cnationwide day of mobilization\u201d on June 27, featuring \u201cmarches, rallies, cultural activations, performances, artistic installations, youth storytelling projects, teach-ins, faith gatherings and community events\u201d in Washington and cities across the country. Locations of events can be found on the groups\u2019 websites.<\/p>\n

\u2018Counter-commemoration\u2019<\/h2>\n

Events also will be held the weekend of the Juneteenth federal holiday, including \u201cReclamation Day\u201d in Brooklyn on June 20.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re framing it as a counter-commemoration ahead of the 250th anniversary and also a movement-building opportunity,\u201d said Trevor Smith, co-founder of a group sponsoring the event, the Black Liberation Indigenous Sovereignty Collective. \u201cWe push back against the kind of whitewashed narrative that the administration is pushing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Linda Sarsour, co-chair of Next 250, said the goal is to provide events outside today\u2019s negative politics, where people can feel safe and positive about the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think for those of us who are working in grassroots movements right now, a lot of our people are feeling scared,\u201d Sarsour said. \u201cThey\u2019re also feeling uncertain about the future. And I think what we\u2019re trying to do here is reaffirm an actual certainty that whatever\u2019s happening right now is temporary. We are on 250 years. And guess what? There\u2019s another 250 years coming, and we can shape that by doing the work that we\u2019re doing today.\u201d<\/p>\n

The America250 Commission, the bipartisan group that has been planning for the 250th since 2016, is encouraging people from all walks of life to get involved, such as donating time or money as part of an \u201cAmerica Gives\u201d program or simply joining one of the many celebrations that will be part of \u201cAmerica\u2019s Block Party\u201d on July 4.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmerica\u2019s 250th is a once-in-a-generation moment and it belongs to everyone,\u201d said the commission chair, former U.S. Treasurer Rosie Rios. \u201cFrom neighborhood block parties to national moments, we are building a shared experience that brings our country together and invites people to celebrate, connect and give back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Another one bites the dust<\/a><\/p>\n

White House plans<\/h2>\n

Events sponsored by the White House through its public-private partnership, Freedom 250, appear to be far less inclusive.<\/p>\n

In a May 30 post on his Truth Social platform, after most performers backed out of a concert organized by Freedom 250, Trump said he would instead hold an \u201cAMERICA IS BACK Rally\u201d and give a speech on the National Mall before the Fourth of July, with \u201cOnly Great Patriots invited.\u201d<\/p>\n

The plans for a mixed martial arts competition on the White House lawn on June 14, which is both Flag Day and Trump\u2019s 80th birthday, and a Grand Prix IndyCar race around the National Mall on Aug. 22 and 23 have been criticized as far removed from the focus of the nation\u2019s 250th birthday celebration.<\/p>\n

And Freedom 250\u2019s \u201cRededicate 250\u201d rally on the Mall on May 17 \u2014 billed as \u201cgiving thanks for God\u2019s presence in our national life throughout 250 years of American history and asking for his guidance for the next 250\u201d \u2014 was seen by some as violating the Constitution\u2019s call for separation of church and state.<\/p>\n

Democrats and other critics have raised questions about whether funds appropriated by Congress for America250 have been diverted to the White House group and combined with private donations that are not being disclosed.<\/p>\n

The watchdog group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility filed a lawsuit last month in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia seeking documents from the Interior Department on fundraising and spending by Freedom 250.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmerica\u2019s 250th anniversary celebration is supposed to be an occasion for strengthening public trust in our democratic institutions, not eroding it,\u201d Tim Whitehouse, PEER\u2019s executive director, said when the suit was filed. \u201cIn contrast, Freedom 250 is a privately managed slush fund designed to operate with no transparency, no accountability and no guardrails. It epitomizes what is wrong with politics today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Top Democrats on two House committees wrote Secretary of State Marco Rubio on May 27 asking about reports that some U.S. ambassadors are soliciting donations from foreign companies to help fund Freedom 250 activities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe degree to which State Department personnel, resources, and the prestige of official diplomatic positions have been mobilized in service of a politically motivated and partisan fundraising enterprise demands transparency,\u201d said Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., ranking member of the Natural Resources Committee, and Rep. Gregory W. Meeks, D-N.Y., ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee.<\/p>\n

An attorney for PEER and a spokesperson for Huffman both said Tuesday that neither has received responses to the lawsuit or the letter.<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018Tough lessons\u2019: House braces for Rayburn renovation<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One month from America’s 250th birthday, events and celebrations to commemorate the adoption of the Declaration of Independence are as fragmented as the nation’s politics and culture in 2026. 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