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Common Threads: Weaving Together Our American Story

A Community Discussion for America's 250th

As we mark the 250th Anniversary of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, MPL and Wisconsin PBS invite you to join together for critical discussion and storytelling about our collective past.

How do America’s founding values reflect or contrast personal and national understandings of what it means to be “American” today? What “American” principles would you re-ratify for our country’s future?

As we mark the 250th Anniversary of the United States’ Declaration of Independence, MPL and Wisconsin PBS invite you to join together as a community to discuss these and other questions and think critically about what values we want to carry forward.  

This event is part of MPL’s Civic Season. To mark the 250th anniversary of America’s founding, the Milwaukee Public Library will host a Civic Season from Juneteenth through Independence Day. These events are designed to help participants to think critically about the complexities of our collective past and imagine expansively about what we’d like the next 250 years to hold for our city. 

Participant Instructions: This event requires pre-registration. Please bring quotes, poems, song lyrics or writings (family histories, letters) that speak to your “American Story”. These materials will be used to spark thoughtful, inclusive discussion throughout the event. 
We encourage participants to also sign up for an artist workshop as part of our “Patchwork of Voices: Crafting Our Country’s Future Together” program with Arts at Large & artist Iris Acevedo on 6/25 and 7/2 at our Mitchell Street and Washington Park branches to transform these conversations into art. 

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