Civic Season 2026: A Recap
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Civic Season 2026: A Community in Conversation
2026 marks the United States’ semiquincentennial. To better understand the last 250 years, ABHM is celebrating Civic Season, a new tradition co-created by Made By Us, Gen Z, and other cultural institutions. Civic Season spans from Juneteenth (June 19th) through the Fourth of July, uniting our newest federal holiday with our oldest one, and is designed as a time for people of all ages to convene and reflect on our growth as a nation. ABHM and other museums are conveners for these conversations and provide a space for intergenerational interaction.
This year, ABHM’s programming was intentionally designed for young adults; Gen Z are our future leaders, yet remain an underserved audience in museums. However, while our programming this year is aimed at Gen Z, participants included individuals of all ages, from the earliest of learners to our community elders. ABHM believes intergenerational learning and community building pave the way for building a better future. Attended by more than 140 people, this year’s Civic Season taught us the importance of community, reflection, and action.
A Slice of Local History
Friday, June 19th from 12:00pm-3:00pm at America’s Black Holocaust Museum
Civic Season began on Juneteenth with the Slice of History event. The celebration included fun and interactive educational activities, community participation, and free pizza from Pizza to the Polls. The event saw more than 60 participants from a wide variety of ages. For early learners, we provided an arts-and-crafts station in partnership with the Milwaukee Public Museum where participants created squares for a community quilt, which now hangs proudly at ABHM. For teens and older audiences, we hosted a bingo game about local Black History, where participants competed for prizes.
The bingo game focused on the many Black Milwaukeeans and Wisconsinites (and their allies) who influenced both the city and the community. Many of the individuals covered are not well known, despite making vital contributions to the city, state, and nation. The goal of this event was to acknowledge these contributions and inform our community of the impact of these individuals with both historic and modern examples. Overall, the bingo game and craft corner were well received by our audience and were chock-full of community, local history, education, and, of course, pizza.
Writing Together- Lift Every Voice
Saturday, June 20th from 12:00pm-2:00pm at America’s Black Holocaust Museum
A vital part of Civic Season is civic participation. To encourage civic engagement, ABHM hosted Writing Together: Life Every Voice. This provided an avenue for our visitors to reflect on the past, respond to the present, and imagine the future they want to live in. The event was attended by more than 40 participants and was often described as “cathartic”.
The event started with an exploration of Dr. James Cameron’s (ABHM’s founder) writings to Congress and his pamphlets. The Wisconsin Black Historical Society and Museum helped us explore the power of individuals' voices, writings, and civic action.
Participants were given the option to keep or donate their letters and to sign or remain anonymous. The letters that were donated displayed an overwhelming desire for peace, prosperity, and equality, and showed appreciation for all America has done and what it could stand for. The letters ranged from childlike handwriting to neat cursive, simple sentences to long paragraphs of reflection, and deep anger to appreciation. All in all, these letters provided a stepping stone toward real change in the community.
To read some national ‘Letters to America’, check out the Youth250 collection here.
Civic participation is not only relevant every four years, or even just in Civic Season, but is a vital part of American democracy. ABHM encourages people to check voter registration status, to get out and vote, and find other ways to engage civically all year long.
ABHM Book Club Swap
Monday, June 22nd from 5:00 pm- 7:00 pm at Milwaukee Public Library, Good Hope Branch
Our next Civic Season program was our monthly Book Club meeting. This June, ABHM Book Club read and discussed Thomas Jefferson & Sally Hemings by Annette Gordon-Reed. The book, published in 1997, analyzes the historical evidence and cultural assumptions surrounding the rumors of a relationship between Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, an enslaved woman at Monticello. The story explores racial biases and historical consensus and provides a ground-breaking re-evaluation of assumptions made by both the academic community and the general public.
To gear this month's Book Club toward Civic Season, ABHM and the Milwaukee Public Library collaborated on a community dialogue before the Book Club meeting. Audiences were encouraged to participate in a conversation on America’s 250th anniversary, where local scholars, organizers, and activists discussed how their work intersects with America250.
After the Book Club, MPL and ABHM hosted a community book swap. Participants brought a book to pass along in exchange for a different book. Between the Book Club and the discussions, this event provided the grounds for amazing community dialogue and outreach.
Find the discussion guide for Thomas Jefferson & Sally Hemings here. Even though this Book Club has passed, feel free to read through the Discussion Recap here.
Don’t miss the next Book Club on Black Patriots and Loyalists by Alan Gilbert on July 25th from 1:30pm to 2:30pm.
National Youth Day
Saturday, June 27th from 12:00pm to 3:00pm at America’s Black Holocaust Museum
All over the country, Gen Z and young people from all backgrounds are looking for opportunities to have their voices heard; as part of this year’s Civic Season, ABHM created a space just for that. ABHM hosted a Gen Z panel on civics, patriotism, and America250.
The discussion panel proposed many questions and focused on the panelists’ relationship to history, museums, libraries, and other civic institutions; their feelings about America250 and what it means to be patriotic; and their advice for how to get Gen Z engaged civically.
Although Civic Season has ended, feel free to still watch the discussion video. Viewers are encouraged to leave their own comments about what patriotism means to them.
National Youth Day invited people of all ages, but was primarily geared toward our Gen Z audience. The goal of the event was to encourage civic participation and reinforce the idea that the youth run, or will run, the world.
Family History Day
Thursday, July 2nd from 12:00 pm-2:30 pm at America’s Black Holocaust Museum
Like our nation, all families have a history worth telling. To end this year's Civic Season programming, ABHM hosted a Family History Day. The event started with a free Griot-guided tour of the museum that highlighted the African American family; this was followed by a Museum of Me activity.
In the Museum of Me activity, participants were encouraged to bring in their own family artifacts- such as jewelry, clothing, photos, or cookware- and describe their significance. What does it mean to you? To your family? The event was paired with questions and example artifacts, where participants learned how to tell and preserve their family stories.
There is history in every one of us. For this year’s civic season, ABHM highlighted individual history along with American history, encouraging an exploration of our unique stories and united past.
Watch TMJ4 Milwaukee’s coverage of ABHM’s Family History Day here.
To build your own Museum of Me, find our template here.
Youth250: Our Declaration
A highlight of this year’s Civic Season was displaying the Youth250 Declaration traveling exhibit. The poster, co-created by Made By Us, graphic designer Haley McDevitt, and a diverse group of Gen Z leaders, hung at the entrance of ABHM throughout Civic Season. The poster was inspired by the United State’s Declaration of Independence and included a reflection on America's founding ideas at the nation's 250th anniversary, and invited viewers to envision and declare what they hope for the next 250 years.
As the declaration travels to different museums and civic spaces across the country, communities are invited to add their own declarations and to spark dialogue and community envisioning within their own spaces. The Youth250 Declaration asks a simple but powerful question: what will we declare for the next 250 years? The poster invites community members to learn from Gen Z voices, to move beyond simply observing history, and to actively declare and participate in what comes next.
Although the exhibit is moving on to its next space, ABHM encourages visitors to continue to reflect on our history, ideals, and commitments, and imagine what could be next in America’s future.
