The word “semiquincentennial†is in the air as the U.S. heads toward its 250th anniversary this summer, heralded by year-long celebrations taking place across the state and the wider nation. Locally, a village speaker series is taking a look at Ohio and American history through stories and perspectives that are often left out of traditional narratives.
Organized by the Village's Public Arts and Culture Commission, or PACC, two events in the “America 250 Speaker Series†have already been held, and several more are scheduled through October.
The events — funded by the Village last December via a budget line item that approved up to $19,999 to mark the semiquincentennial — are free and open to the public.
According to Village Council member and PACC representative Carmen Brown, the speaker series is designed to expand perspectives on the history of the nation's founding.
“When the story of America is told, there is a tendency to make it smaller than it is — to make it more palatable, to forget who was here, who struggled and who insisted on being counted,†Brown wrote to the News last month.
The goal, she said in a later interview, is to bring forward voices and perspectives that may be missing from traditional narratives of early American history.
“It was our goal to [highlight] people whose stories were undertold, or not told,†Brown said.
The series began Feb. 27 with a talk by historian Jane Calvert, who examined the life and contradictions of John Dickinson, a lesser-known figure of early American history often called the “Penman of the Revolution.†Calvert's presentation focused in part on the contradictions that defined Dickinson's life and political philosophy: he spoke out against British rule, but initially opposed declaring independence in 1776; a wealthy man whose family were enslavers, he became an outspoken critic of slavery. Brown said Dickinson's complexity made him a fitting subject for a series centered on resisting simplified versions of history.
“He was Quaker adjacent and was anti-violence, but was in a militia,†she said, adding that Dickinson struggled with the reality that the conflict would move beyond negotiation. “He wanted [to believe] that we could do it without violence.â€
The series' goal of highlighting complexity over simplicity carried into the second event April 11, when Shawnee historian and cultural interpreter Jeremy Turner spoke about the presence and history of Shawnee people in the Miami Valley and broader Ohio River Valley. Turner's presentation, Brown said, delved into the realities of the displacement of Ohio's Indigenous tribes following the passage of the Indian Removal Act in 1830, which forced the Miami, Shawnee, Seneca-Cayuga, Ottawa and Wyandot to relocate to western territories.
“[Turner] didn't sugarcoat anything,†Brown said. “He talked about the reality of what happened … and that was important for people to hear.â€
She said the coming events in the series, too, are intended to challenge audiences to engage directly with American history “not as history, but as contemporary conversation.â€
“The people who have been invited are professional educators,†Brown said. “They're expecting questions.â€
So far, she added, turnout has been strong, with audiences responding to the opportunity to explore topics that don't always share the same space with the idea of building a nation. To that end, remaining events in the series include discussions on the Underground Railroad's lesser-known routes that led south rather than north; the stories of Black patriots; labor advocacy as viewed through the struggles of Appalachian coal miners; and the historical role of the press.
Ultimately, Brown said, the effort is about widening the lens through which history is viewed, so that it can be understood with a depth that makes clear the interconnectedness of all of the people who have made up, and still make up, the United States.
“We have a tendency to silo everything … as if one thing happening doesn't affect others,†she said. “[History is] often told from the perspective of the people in power and … it becomes scientific to the point that it kind of removes humanity. It's like the observed and the observer — and no one ever hears from the observed.â€
Remaining events in the “America 250 Speaker Seriesâ€:
Friday, June 26: Maria Hammack, professor at the Ohio State University, historian and scholar, expands the story of the Underground Railroad beyond familiar routes, highlighting pathways into Mexican territories and placing Ohio within a broader narrative of movement, resistance and liberation.
Friday, July 31: Francis McGee-Cromartie, historian and member of Daughters of the American Revolution, focuses on the lives and contributions of Black patriots, bringing forward stories that deepen and complicate our understanding of the nation's founding.
Friday, Sept. 4: Speakers from the West Virginia Mine Wars Museum, a public history institution preserving the legacy of labor struggles in the Appalachian coalfields, including the fight for safe working conditions, fair wages and the 40-hour work week.
Saturday, Oct. 3: Jeremy Blevins, professor at the University of Cincinnati, examines the role of a free and independent press in a democratic society, and the responsibilities that come with informing the public.
Times and locations for the upcoming events will be published in future issues of the News.
