By RYAN SKAITH
Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville is launching a series of events this month to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.
The university is joining the national “America250” initiative, a multiyear celebration leading up to the semiquincentennial of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Organizers say the programming is designed to connect the nation’s founding ideals to the history and people of Missouri.
“While we often think about the founding of this country as a story centered in the East Coast, the ideas and concerns of the American Revolution and the Founding Fathers impacted people across time and place,” said Elyssa Ford, a history professor at Northwest.
The initial events coincide with the university’s Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Week. All activities are free and open to the public.
Programming begins Wednesday, Jan. 21, with the opening of “Deconstructing the Block,” an art exhibit by Norman Spencer in the DeLuce Art Gallery. Spencer will host a fireside chat at noon in the J.W. Jones Student Union and deliver a lecture at 5:30 p.m. in the Charles Johnson Theater. The exhibit runs through Feb. 27.
Also on Jan. 21, Ford will lead a 4 p.m. discussion in the Student Union regarding the history of Emancipation Day in Nodaway County. The talk will explore how local African American communities celebrated the end of slavery between the 1880s and 1930s.
On Jan. 29, the university will begin a weekly reading group focused on Jeffrey Rosen’s book, “The Pursuit of Liberty: How Hamilton vs. Jefferson Ignited the Lasting Battle over Power in America.” The sessions, led by political science professor Mariliz Kastberg-Leonard, will meet Thursdays at 4 p.m. in the Valk Center.
The America250 activities are being coordinated by Ford, Kastberg-Leonard, English instructor Daniel Biegelson, and Shay Malone, assistant vice president of institutional excellence and global engagement. Additional events will be announced throughout the spring and fall semesters.