As the United States hits its historic 250th anniversary milestone, a deep political rift has split the celebration into two dueling public events: the official “America 250” block party and the rival administration-backed “Freedom 250.” Rather than forcing citizens to choose sides in a modern political culture war, this editorial argues for a unifying third path. By centering our national remembrance on Crispus Attucks—the first man to give his life for American independence at the Boston Massacre—we can bridge our deep ideological divides. Honoring Attucks reclaims a deeply inclusive Revolutionary history, showing that the foundational struggle for freedom belongs collectively to all Americans.
Rather than choosing between rival Independence Day celebrations, this commentary proposes a third path: centering Crispus Attucks and the generations of Black Americans whose struggle for freedom helped define the nation.
Instead of choosing between competing July Fourth celebrations, honor the man whose death helped ignite the American Revolution.
Division is a word that stands in stark contrast to the ideals inherent to the United States of America, but it has become an operative one for Donald Trump and his administration.
Even as the nation gathers to celebrate its 250th birthday, we witness an insuperable divide, keenly illustrated in the notion of two differing commemorations. One is “America 250” and the other “Freedom 250.”
The latter was initiated by Trump to counter the prior one established by Congress in 2016 as the official, nonpartisan commission and often cited as “America’s Block Party.”
In 2025, Trump issued an executive order, thereby creating an arm of his administration‘s Task Force 250. What we have, as one pundit put it, is one birthday and two planners.
First to Die for His Country
Of course, early on, the country observed that someone else’s birthday was in the mix when Ultimate Fighting Championship events were staged on the South Lawn of the White House on June 14.
This was just another blatant example of his egomania, his narcissism that has imperiled us since the inauguration of his second term. We have, in these pages, posted countless critiques of his tyranny of monarchy, and there is so much more to be said as we endure his assault on our democratic rights.
#CrispusAttucks #America250 #BlackHistoryMatters
