‘This isn’t about any one administration’: protests kick off in DC to reimagine the next 250 years in the US

Thousands are expected to gather a block away from the White House today to unveil their vision for America’s future. At the Next250 All of US rally, held a week before the 250th anniversary of the country’s founding, organizers will launch their Declaration of Interdependence , an art installation featuring the collective values they believe should define the next 250 years of America’s story. The pledge – a take on the Declaration of Independence, the country’s founding text – aims to build a country where everyone can earn a living wage, have access to green spaces and feel safe in their communities, activists said. “This event isn’t about any one administration or president,” said Linda Sarsour, an organizer with the Next250, one of the grassroots groups that organized the event. “This is about staking our place in the historic archive. So when people look back at the 250th commemoration and ask ‘Where were the movements?’ they will see this commitment from all of us.” To create the Declaration of Interdependence, activists held listening sessions in 36 states, Puerto Rico and even El Salvador, where they collected ideas from people recently deported from the US. What came back, Sarsour said, is that most Americans, from workers in Iowa to undocumented residents in Detroit to Black Americans in Mississippi, agree on a set of basic universal values: economic security, healthcare, safe schools and a livable planet. …