America's 250th Is Repeating a Familiar Mistake.

The article focuses on the contested role of slavery in national commemorations of American history, particularly in the context of the upcoming Semiquincentennial (250th anniversary) celebrations led by the federal initiative Freedom 250. It highlights how federal planners under the Trump administration minimized or erased slavery’s impact, paralleling similar omissions during the 1932 George Washington Bicentennial, when mainstream commemorations ignored Washington’s involvement in slavery despite efforts by African American intellectuals like W. E. B. Du Bois and Carter G. Woodson to foreground it. The article emphasizes that debates over slavery’s place in national memory reflect broader questions about American identity and inclusion, noting that diverse organizations today continue to challenge official narratives by addressing slavery’s central role in the nation’s founding.