Santa Fe Public Library

Tomorrow!
Celebrating America(s): Independence Remembered in Troubled Times, 1976 and 2026

Date: Tuesday, June 9, 2026
Time: 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Location: La Farge Library
Address: 1730 Llano Street, Santa Fe, NM 87505

Register here: https://www.santafelibrary.org/event/usa250

Join us for a history lecture presented by Historian Karl Brooks.

About the lecture: USA250 carries a heavy load in these troubled times. We commemorate the imperial rebellion that forged the United States of America, but our “semi-quincentennial” also reminds us that 1776 felt much different in Nuevo México, the complex multi-ethnic communities inhabiting Spain’s northernmost colonial frontier.

And as Faulkner reminds us, “The past isn’t dead; it isn’t even past.” Like the 1976 Bicentennial, USA250 harnesses different versions of the past to everyday political controversies.

Unelected President Gerald Ford used the Bicentennial to lift Americans’ eyes from the “long national nightmares” of Vietnam and Watergate while Ronald Reagan, Ford’s bitter rival for the Republican presidential nomination, fueled partisanship with patriotism. Like today, the rivals debated immigration. But unlike USA250, Ford and Reagan’s Bicentennial campaign celebrated Americans’ diverse immigrant heritage.

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This June offers me several opportunities to visit some of New Mexico’s rural libraries. (Details on my website.) These places are about far more than books. Not only do they encourage people to keep on reading, they also serve as community resource centers, gathering places, and safe havens. Public libraries and the free access they offer to information are crucial to our democracy. Spend some time in yours!