BIRTHDAY WISHES.

The article focuses on the contested memory of slavery in American history, particularly in relation to national commemorations such as the upcoming Semiquincentennial (250th anniversary) of the United States. It highlights how federal planning under the Trump administration minimized the role of slavery in these celebrations, continuing a historical pattern exemplified by the 1932 George Washington Bicentennial, which largely erased Washington’s involvement with slavery despite significant efforts by African American activists and scholars to center it. The article emphasizes that public memory is shaped by multiple perspectives and that community groups and institutions today are actively working to present a more inclusive and truthful account of the nation’s founding, including the centrality of slavery. It concludes that national anniversaries are collective endeavors that cannot be monopolized by any single government or institution. [Extracted from the article]