Civic Season 2025: A Recap
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2025’s ABHM Juneteenth and summer programming is in alignment with Civic Season, a new tradition co-created by Made By Us, Gen Z, and cultural institutions. Designed to engage Gen Z in meaningful civic participation, Civic Season happens from Juneteenth (June 19th) through the Fourth of July, uniting our newest federal holiday with our oldest.
During Civic Season organizations all over the nation create programming and events to intentionally engage with Gen Z (both in person and virtually) and meet their needs. While our programming was aimed at young adults, participants included individuals of all ages from the earliest of learners to our community elders. This was something we welcome with open arms because history affects all generations and we all benefit from intergenerational learning opportunities and community building.
Community Screening: Sweet Messenger w/ Discussion
Wednesday, June 18th from 3:00-5:00 PM at America’s Black Holocaust Museum.
ABHM invited the community to come and enjoy a special screening of the documentary “Sweet Messenger: The True Story of One of the Only Known Survivors of a Lynching, Dr. James Cameron.” After the screening, we came together for a roundtable discussion where some immediate thoughts on the documentary were that it was “powerful” and that it was new knowledge for many. From there, we dove into a series of questions that were loosely inspired by an organization called CoGenerate to foster a sense of intergenerational community. These questions centered on our own personal relationships to history, community, and legacy while also encouraging us to be hopeful for the future.
One of the first takeaways that came up was that all generations, our elders and our young adults, are seeing the parallels between the present and the past and are deeply concerned about historical lessons for the current moment. There were also concerns about celebrating and learning about Juneteenth when teaching diverse and accurate history is being attacked all over the nation. Despite these concerns, many were left with a sense of hope that institutions like ABHM exist and that young people want to be engaged civically. If there was one thing that all attendants agreed upon by the end, it was that teaching history in a truthful manner is necessary if we want to avoid repeating actions of the past that have caused harm.
Some of our attendants also provided some book recommendations that pair well with the screening and conversation: Stamped From The Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi, White Trash by Nancy Isenberg, and We Were Eight Years In Power by Ta-Nehisi Coates.
If you want to recreate an event like this in your own community or organization use this FREE template to get started!
Slice of History: Local History Bingo w/ Prizes
Thursday, June 19th from 12:00-2:00 pm at America’s Black Holocaust Museum
Our flagship event was celebrating Juneteenth with some amazing local history! This celebration was a Slice of History event which meant that Civic Season and their sponsors sent us free pizza to attract Gen Z to ABHM for our event. The day was full of fun educational activities for all ages, free pizza, and community. For our early learners, we had arts and crafts available which included creating tiles for our community quilt. For our teen and up audience we hosted a bingo game centered on local Black history with prizes. While all of these activities were received positively, it was clear that the bingo game and the free pizza was the favorite part of the day.
The bingo game focused on informing people on the many Black Milwaukeeans and Wisconsinites (and their allies) who have made a huge impact on the city and community. Many of the individuals covered, such as George Marshall Clark, Horace Dangerfield, and the Watson Family are not well known despite making important contributions to the shaping of the city, state, and even the nation. And to acknowledge that history can be made in the present day, we also included people such as Al Jarreau, Cavalier Johnson, and other notable public figures. While most of the research and preparation for this game was done by ABHM staff and interns, we also highly appreciate our community members who shared their own connections and fun facts about some of the individuals we were highlighting. Overall, Local History Bingo was a positively received event that was full of community, education, history, and, of course, free pizza.
In the near future, ABHM will share the tools to host your own Local History Bingo game available on our virtual museum. If you are interested in hosting an event similar to this for your own organization or classroom before then, please reach out to the museum via our contact form.
ABHM Book Club: Great Speeches by Frederick Douglass
Thursday, June 26th at 6 PM via Zoom.
Our third Civic Season program was our regularly scheduled Book Club meeting. For June we read Great Speeches by Frederick Douglass. We chose this book specifically because of Douglass’ legacy as an abolitionist, orator, and his speech “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” This book is especially timely due to the recent Juneteenth holiday and upcoming Fourth of July. During the discussion we really focused on understanding Douglass’ critiques of slavery and religion, the complicity and inaction of the Northern states, and the hypocritical celebration of the Fourth of July when at the time of his speech millions were living in bondage and would still be legally enslaved for another 13 years after he delivered his speech.
Find the discussion guide for June (and previous meetings) here and consider using it as you reflect on the meaning of the Fourth of July today. Where are we on our perpetual journey for liberty and justice for all?
Community Screening: Fannie Lou Hamer’s America with/ Discussion
Saturday, June 28th, 1 to 3 pm at America’s Black Holocaust Museum
Our final Civic Season event was a community screening of Fannie Lou Hamer’s America. This documentary shines light on a person who, within the broader Civil Rights movement, is often overlooked. The documentary shows Mrs. Hamer’s work as a member of the Student’s Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the hardships she had to overcome in her youth. Through archival footage, interviews, and images, the documentary is as beautiful as it is educational.
After the screening, ABHM hosted a discussion to unpack the film’s impact and explore what Hamer’s legacy means today and how it can move forward. Similar to our other Civic Season events, this conversation largely focused on the importance of truth telling in history, advocacy, and hope for the future.
Find the discussion guide for this community screening here. If you are an educator or teacher, consider using this within your classrooms or any of our previous discussion guides.
Casa Romero Art + Activism Retreat
Saturday and Sunday, June 7th-8th and June 14th-15th
During Civic Season, we displayed the mural created by participants from Casa Romero’s Art & Activism Retreat, co-hosted by ABHM in the weekends leading up to Juneteenth. The students had a special tour of the museum, went on a mural walk, and worked together with local artists to complete their own mural.
The mural they created, “The Division of Peace,” explores what it means to reclaim narratives, resist harmful messages, and intentionally plant seeds of growth and healing. It emphasizes that peace, growth, and justice don’t come passively - they are intentionally cultivated. The students’ message is clear: the power to create change begins with what we choose to grow.
The mural was on display at the museum from Juneteenth through July 4th, 2025.