Strategy 6 Inspire a Culture of Commitment to American Constitutional Democracy and One Another
Telling Our Nation’s Story

Recommendation 6.2
To coincide with the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, create a Telling Our Nation’s Story initiative to engage communities throughout the country in direct, open-ended, and inclusive conversations about the complex and always evolving American story. Led by civil society organizations, these conversations will allow participants at all points along the political spectrum to explore both their feelings about and hopes for this country.
William Sturkey, Associate Professor of History at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, speaks at a virtual Academy event on "Telling Our Regional Story: The Narratives that Unite and Divide in North Carolina."
In order to implement Recommendation 6.2 by 2026, the Commission proposes the following milestones to complete by year-end of:
2020
- Announce a partnership with the Federation of State and Territorial Humanities Councils and assemble a task force to work with the Commission to confirm the goals and timeline of the initiative and develop themes and questions to guide conversation
2021
- Identify and connect with possible funders
2022
- Identify possible national partners, especially those with state affiliates
2023
- Engage a project director to administer and oversee funding and grant-making; develop a call for proposals and a design for proposal review; and establish a process for evaluation and reporting
2024
- Run grant-competition and disburse grants
2026
- Be able to report back on two years of activity across all U.S. states and territories