Thomas Jefferson penned the Declaration of Independence’s assertion that “all men are created equal” while enslaving hundreds of people at Monticello. The Constitution established democratic principles while permitting slavery. After the Civil War, formerly enslaved Americans were promised 40 acres and a mule as part of an effort to build economic independence, only to see those commitments abandoned.

But for many Black Americans, the anniversary has become something else entirely. Rather than celebrating 250 years of freedom, they are asking whether the nation has fully delivered on promises made in 1776 while millions of Africans remained enslaved and generations of their descendants continued to fight for rights guaranteed to others.

Press Briefing and Town Hall to Elevate Declaration of Interdependence, Anchor Nationwide July 4 Actions, and Position Connecticuit at the Center of the Next 250 Conversation