“The Other 250: America from Below,” a roundtable on the contested terrain of the United States’ 250th birthday—and the counter-histories that can help us confront the authoritarian politics of the present. Featuring Cherokee journalist and podcaster Rebecca Nagle, activist educator Jesse Hagopian, geographer Derek Alderman, and NHM’s Beka Economopoulos, this conversation asks vision of freedom is being celebrated in 2026, what histories cannot be accommodated by the official narrative, and what forms of public education, storytelling, and cultural work are needed to bring those histories into view.
SPEAKERS
* Rebecca Nagle (Cherokee), award-winning journalist and citizen of Cherokee Nation
* Jesse Hagopian, classroom teacher, curriculum builder, cultural thought leader, mentor, and organizer
* Derek H. Alderman, Chancellor’s Professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville
* Beka Economopoulos, Director of The Natural History Museum
This is a Words Are Monuments event produced by The Natural History Museum. Made possible with support from the Mellon Foundation and 4culture.
