Celebrating America 250
The year 2026 marks 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, and with it, nationwide efforts to thoughtfully reflect on our past, present, and future. Washington State is organizing efforts in the commemorative year around key dates that local communities can use to feel connected to efforts statewide.
Folio: The Seattle Athenaeum is proud to offer civic programs that invite our community to read, gather, and reflect on the promises of American democracy and the ongoing work of making them a reality.
Ongoing Folio Groups
Members of the public are invited to browse our collection of American and Pacific Northwest history for quiet reading every Saturday from 12–5.
Folio members and Philosophy Club members are also invited to join us this month for selected readings from John Locke's Two Treatises of Government (1689), Thomas Jefferson's The Declaration of Independence (1776), Thomas Paine's Common Sense (1776), Frederick Douglass's "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" (1852), and Hannah Arendt's On Revolution (1963).
Quiet Reading at FolioSat, Jul 25Folio: The Seattle Athenaeum
Folio Philosophy ClubThu, Jul 30Folio: The Seattle Athenaeum
The American Conversation Project
This summer, Folio is joining libraries across the country as a participant in the American Conversation Project, a national initiative bringing communities together during Civic Season to ensure that local voices are part of the American story at this historic moment.
Join our free community conversations below, offered in-person and on Zoom, each with a curated reading list to help guide your engagement. Audience members are invited to read one book (or several) from their list of choice,, and discuss how these histories continue to shape democracy today, and what a more perfect union might actually look like. Conversations are recorded and contribute to a national collection of community voices gathered from libraries across the country during this milestone year.
Confronting Racism: Imagining a More Perfect UnionThu, Aug 06Folio: The Seattle Athenaeum
Shaping Democracy: Lessons from Civil Rights PioneersThu, Aug 13Folio: The Seattle Athenaeum- Confronting Racism: Imagining a More Perfect UnionThu, Aug 20Online via Zoom
- Shaping Democracy: Lessons from Civil Rights PioneersThu, Aug 27Online via Zoom
The Promise of Democracy
Our America 250 celebration continues in September in partnership with Humanities Washington Speakers Bureau, where Professor Yasemin Sari of Seattle University will explore how conversation between neighbors strengthens democracy and how we might bridge the gap between private conviction and public life, before we close our 250th celebration on the Civic Day of Action with Reading The Declaration of Independence & Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham Jail.
Together: The Promise of DemocracyMon, Sep 14Folio: The Seattle Athenaeum
Reading The Declaration of Independence & Letter from Birmingham JailThu, Sep 17Folio: The Seattle Athenaeum
