As the nation commemorates its 250^th anniversary, local public media stations are creating new ways to explore the history around us, through local original documentaries, local reporting, radio features, educational resources and community engagement. Together, these efforts offer a snapshot of how local stations nationwide are honoring America 250, building on decades of chronicling community life and preserving local history. They reflect the essential services local public media stations provide every day, services federal funding previously helped support. Restoring federal funding is critical to protecting the deep community engagement and local storytelling stations bring to their communities.

History, Told From Home

Across the country, stations are connecting America 250 to the people, places and experiences that have shaped their own regions through new local programming.

WHYY’s Declaration’s Journey, created in partnership with the Museum of the American Revolution, traces the Declaration of Independence from Jefferson’s pen to freedom movements around the world and its enduring influence on the pursuit of equality.

Virginia Public Media’s Declarations: Black Americans and the Revolutionary War centers on the experiences of Black Americans during the fight for independence.

Arizona PBS’s What Happened in AZ? explores what was happening while British colonists were declaring their independence in the east.

Wyoming Public Media’s America’s Minutes: Stories of America 250 offers brief stories about the Revolution, the founding, and Wyoming’s place in American history.

Boise State Public Radio’s America 250: Short Histories of Boise takes listeners into the histories of familiar local streets, neighborhoods and landmarks.

Bringing History to Public Spaces

America 250 extends beyond the screen and airwaves as stations partner with museums and local organizations to create opportunities for audiences to explore history together.

Nebraska Public Media is partnering with the International Quilt Museum for a free America 250 Community Celebration for families. Part of a year-long statewide initiative inspired by The American Revolution, the event will include hands-on activities, screenings and the museum’s Material Nation exhibition, featuring more than 250 historical objects, quilts and tools.

WKAR Public Media and the Michigan History Center are hosting a free America 250 event where Michiganders can share family keepsakes and record their stories. The program includes a screening of WKAR’s Before America, which explores Revolutionary-era history through Native perspectives, and a discussion with historians and curators.

New Classroom Resources

Stations are also using America 250 to help educators connect national history with local places, stories, and perspectives.

Local public media stations nationwide are developing a growing collection of classroom resources, including video clips, interactives and more, that explore the American Revolution through a local lens.

Georgia Public Broadcasting’s MARKED! transforms historical markers into stories about Georgia’s role in the American Revolution, with classroom resources and discussion guides that encourage students to consider the histories around them.

Buffalo Toronto Public Media is partnering with the Buffalo History Museum for an educator workshop that combines national and Western New York history with classroom-ready resources, museum collections, hands-on activities, and overview of New York’s commemoration resources and sites.

Inviting Student Voices Into the Story

Stations are also creating opportunities for young people to explore history, share their own perspectives and see how their lives and communities fit within the larger American story.

Arkansas TV is partnering with National History Day Arkansas to highlight student projects that connect Revolutionary history to Arkansas, local communities and the future. The effort gives young people an opportunity to research, interpret and share the stories they believe belong in the nation’s 250th anniversary.

Through America’s Awesome Kids, GBH and 23 partner local public television stations are highlighting children from across the country whose passions, service and connection to their local communities offer a view of America in the present tense.

As our communities’ storytellers, local public media stations are uniquely positioned to help audiences understand how the country came to be, how their own communities contribute to the American story and how that story continues to unfold.

Restoring federal funding would help ensure stations can continue sharing those local stories for generations to come.

Q & A

How are local public media stations marking America 250?

Local public media stations are commemorating America 250 through original local programming, classroom and educator resources, community engagement, and opportunities for Americans to share their own stories.