Good morning!
When we celebrate people in our lives as they graduate, get married, pass away or other milestones, we commemorate the good things about them and celebrate those things.  We all have faults and do things that we are ashamed of, but when we celebrate the good, we set an example of what we should be like to our children.
So let's celebrate our country and the good things our founding fathers did. They were braver than most of us will ever be. Yes, their are actions that they took, that should never be repeated and should be taught, but that doesn't mean the people themselves can't be celebrated for birthing this country, for the good that they did. 
And maybe we did celebrate the Boston Tea Party, Mount Rushmore and the Liberty Bell fifty years ago, but fifty years of people have been born here or immigrated here since that time. They have not had the opportunity to celebrate them and  learn about them (good and bad). As many of you have said, we can do both.  
There's really nothing political about that.
As far as local history is concerned, the founder of Jonesville, Benaiah Jones was the author of many good things here in Jonesville, but he too was very flawed. He eventually left Jonesville in a lurch and there is controversy over how he died. One of the stories suggests that he may have murdered someone in Texas! 

On Thu, Apr 16, 2026 at 8:03 AM Lancaster, Cathy (MDE) via Michlib-l <michlib-l@liblists.org> wrote:
An additional source for programming ideas can be found in Chapter 6 of the CSLP Unearth A StoryTM manual with ideas for all ages. It includes storytime books & songs, booklists for various age groups, crafts, and STEM programs. Some of crafts do tend to lean into the patriotic theme.  

The ideas below are so great, I really love the 5 themes Bryan shared! I will echo those and encourage libraries to keep in mind the stories that are not being told, such as those of our indigenous peoples. Partnering with local museums, tribes, and local groups to host community conversations and shared programming would be a start in hearing from all voices that live in our communities.

Thank you,

Cathy Lancaster

Youth Services Coordinator

Library of Michigan
702 W. Kalamazoo St.
Lansing, MI 48915
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From: Whitledge, Bryan R via Michlib-l <michlib-l@liblists.org>
Sent: Wednesday, April 15, 2026 9:27 PM
To: Oster, Adam (MDE) <OsterA@michigan.gov>; Anna Merritt <amerritt@richlandlibrary.org>; michlib-l@liblists.org <michlib-l@liblists.org>
Subject: [Michlib-l] Re: Celebrating America250
 

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What a great question, Anna! And thank you Adam for highlighting some major undertakings here in Michigan (more details about the organization later, but if this info is not on the AASLH initiative tracker, it should be!).

 

I am a big believer that our local and state organizations need to enthusiastically seize this moment and develop programming to commemorate the 250th. If we don’t, the Boston Tea Party, the Liberty Bell, and Mount Rushmore will be front and center. We already did that 50 years ago. Instead let’s get stories about L’Anse, River Raisin, Muskegon and every place in between out there. Our Michigan stories need to be heard because they are consequential to our collective pursuit of a more perfect union over the past 250 years!

 

Among the best resources out there is the American Association for State and Local History. They have been working across the country for years to create a fulsome approach to the 250th, and they have focused on 5 themes for this year’s commemorations. These themes are outlined in their Field Guide (there is a Spanish-language Field Guide as well):

 

--Unfinished Revolutions

--Power of Place

--We the People

--The American Experiment

--Doing History

 

The AALSH has a ton more free resources, too - https://aaslh.org/programs/250th/#tab-6fa01190263ff1c2bf6. One that is particularly useful is a program guide with all sorts of ideas for a variety of programs in a variety of environments. For instance, they have ideas for essay or oratorial contests, developing an oral history program, hosting walking tours of your community, etc.

 

And drawing on those AASLH themes, the Society of American Archivists is asking all archives large and small across the country to contribute one item to the SAA 250 for the 250th. This effort will create a huge, freely available database of documents, photos, audio and video files, and more from across the country. The SAA effort is open to every institution with archives holdings. It will be excellent to see Michigan well-represented (*wink, *wink)!

 

One last bit of information about nomenclature for the commemorations: America250 is the official name of a Congressionally chartered corporation. Over the past two years, America250 has become much more focused on selling merchandise (if you are on the official America250 mailing list, you receive more e-mails to purchase branded apparel than information about commemoration efforts). If you aren’t tied to the official efforts, feel free to call the grassroots programs being led by local and state organizations across the country by names other than America250 – e.g., the US 250th, the Semiquincentennial, the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, etc. You’ll notice AASLH uses these other names because they are not part of the officially sanctioned organization.

 

Just like Adam, I am happy to discuss Semiquincentennial efforts any time. And I can share more about the Clarke Historical Library’s exhibit, “From the Consent of the Governed: Michigan and the Values of the Declaration of Independence,” in which we focus on the values expressed in the opening paragraphs of the Declaration of Independence:

--We are all equal,

--We all have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and

--The people are empowered to stand up for their rights in the face of tyranny.

 

Thank you and have an excellent day,

 

Bryan Whitledge

Public Services Librarian

Clarke Historical Library

Central Michigan University

989-774-2159

whitl1br@cmich.edu

 

From: Oster, Adam (MDE) via Michlib-l <michlib-l@liblists.org>
Sent: Wednesday, April 15, 2026 5:03 PM
To: Anna Merritt <amerritt@richlandlibrary.org>; michlib-l@liblists.org
Subject: [External] [Michlib-l] Re: Celebrating America250

 

Hi Anna,

Our approach at the Library of Michigan with our monthly virtual programs (www.Michigan.gov/LMPublicPrograms) is to have several programs that focus on the early development of Michigan as both a territory and state, the collection/preservation of the stories of that initial generation of Michiganders, and other topics faced by researchers of that time period (e.g., vital records prior to 1867, the Public Land Survey System, using out of state collections for Michigan research).

 

Our colleagues/neighbors at the Michigan State Capitol Education & History Department approached the America 250 themes from how the Michigan Capitol building - and the community of people connected to it - fit within the larger American story: https://www.mscexhibits.org/america-250-programs-schedule. Their programs so far have focused on the architecture of capitol buildings, Michigan Constitutions & Constitutional Conventions, and how the Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society was collecting history in the 1870s. Many of their future programs follow similar themes.

 

The story of our state offers many ways of exploring the themes of the America 250 celebration and celebrating Michigan’s contributions to the American story. Besides looking at our program list and those of the Michigan State Capitol Education & History Department, I’d also suggest looking at the America250MI website: https://www.america250mi.org/. There are certainly plenty of ideas on there that the Historical Society of Michigan has compiled together. If you (or anyone else) want to have a further conversation about this, feel free to reach out.

 

Thanks!

Adam

 

Adam Oster, Community Engagement Librarian

Library of Michigan

Michigan Department of Education

702 W. Kalamazoo St.

P.O. Box 30007

Lansing, MI 48909-7507

 

ostera@michigan.gov | 517-335-1469 | www.mi.gov/libraryofmichigan

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From: Anna Merritt via Michlib-l <michlib-l@liblists.org>
Sent: Wednesday, April 15, 2026 2:56 PM
To: michlib-l@liblists.org
Subject: [Michlib-l] Celebrating America250

 

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Hello All,

 

Is anyone else having trouble navigating the America250 without bringing up politics or glossing over aspects of America’s history…?

 

Ideas for programs, displays, etc. seem to either 1.) Put out an uber-patriotic ideal or 2.) Invite debate about current events and politics…

 

How can we find a balance between sugarcoating our nation’s history and being to ‘woke’ for our more conservative patrons?

 

All ideas and feedback are welcome. No judgment.

 

Anna Merritt

(she/her)

Assistant Director / Adult Programmer / Interloan Specialist

Richland Community Library

8951 Park Street

Richland, MI 49083

(269) 629-9085

ZV283

https://www.richlandlibrary.org/

1

 


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