Anti-Trump programming heats up in progressive push to ‘reclaim’ America 250 messaging

“From its founding, the United States has existed in the gap between ideals and actions – the space between the ideals of liberty, equality, and justice for all, and the actions of genocide, land theft, and slavery,” Next250’s website reads. “While there is a deeply held belief that rugged individualism and fierce independence built this country, we know that what has always pushed this nation forward are actions that have expanded the circle of who counts in ‘we the people.’

“To begin the next 250 years of the American story, we open our hearts and set free our radical imaginations to unlock a nation defined by interdependence, where everyone can participate, prosper, and reach their full potential,” Next250 wrote. “As the United States reaches its 250th birthday, the nation stands at a crossroads of great or dangerous change. We, the people, have the power to build a promising future for everyone.”

Several other organizations or companies are in the coalition to “Reclaim & Reframe the Story of America at 250,” including The Movement for Black Lives and Black Alder Labs, which appears to be a branding group that emphasizes trauma it says reporters face, particularly “Black and Brown journalists.” A group called “Get Free Together” is another organization participating in counterprogramming, claiming “Trump’s 250th is a Whitewashed 250th.”

“He is erasing Black, Brown, and indigenous people from US history, erasing the stories of leaders who made the US a more equal place and replacing them with pictures of himself and wealthy, white men who abused their power like him throughout our past,” Get Free Together’s website reads. 

“A supremacist faction of the rich and powerful is trying to keep us from our power, control us, and rule for a wealthy, white few,” the organization said. “We see what they are up to, and we aren’t gonna let them steal our future. Just like our ancestors, we’re going to defeat this supremacist faction.”

The alternative America 250 programming announced by the progressive coalition is just the latest in anti-Trump demonstrations recently announced. No Kings announced Thursday that there will be nationwide protests against Trump on his 80th birthday on June 14, exactly one year after its first nationwide protest against the president and the day it said Trump would be “distracted” by the first-ever UFC fight at the White House. 

The fight on the White House’s South Lawn is one of a roster of events that the Trump-backed Freedom 250 organization is planning to mark the semiquincentennial, including a free IndyCar race in Washington, D.C., and the 16-day “Great American State Fair,” which will showcase all 50 states and feature an 110-foot Ferris wheel. 

FOUR FORMER PRESIDENTS UNITE WITH HOPEFUL MESSAGE AHEAD OF AMERICA 250

America250, the organization Congress approved to celebrate the milestone, is engaging citizens through initiatives such as a national collegiate competition highlighting U.S. innovation through startups, as well as “Our American Story” and “America Gives.”

For “Our American Story,” America 250 is conducting a yearlong, cross-country tour collecting thousands of recorded interviews, with the goal of creating “the largest archive of American stories ever created.” “America Gives” is an initiative aimed at spurring volunteerism and building “the largest volunteer effort in U.S. history.” America250 is donating $1 million in 2026, and those who log volunteer hours through the organization have the opportunity to be one of 250 winners to choose where the donations will go. Over 8.6 million hours have been logged to date.