New York, NY: On the evening of Thursday April 16, 2026, national and local leaders affiliated with the Next 250 Initiative gathered at Middle Collegiate Church in Manhattan to officially launch a coordinated nationwide mobilization tied to the 250th anniversary of the United States, anchored by a major national rally and march in Washington, D.C. on June 27, 2026.
The June 27 mobilization will bring thousands of people from across the country to the nation’s capital, with organizers establishing a national travel fund to support participants traveling by bus and other means. In addition to the Washington, D.C. action, organizers announced coordinated sister marches and rallies in cities nationwide, creating a distributed, national day of action ahead of July 4.
The New York City town hall marked the culmination of a series of convenings held in cities including Pittsburgh, Detroit, Hartford, and served as the public inflection point where organizers moved from listening and community engagement into a unified national rollout.
Led in part by former Women’s March leaders Linda Sarsour and Carmen Pérez, alongside Saru Jayaraman and a broad cross-movement coalition, the initiative brings together immigrant rights groups, racial justice advocates, labor leaders, faith organizations, and youth organizers to shape a people-driven vision for the country at a pivotal moment.
“This is about who gets to define what this country stands for as we approach 250 years,” said Linda Sarsour. “We’re building a mass movement that reflects the voices, struggles, and aspirations of everyday people across this country.”
The mobilization is grounded in the Declaration of Interdependence, a framework developed through more than 2,500 listening sessions nationwide, including communities in U.S. territories, immigrant communities, and individuals impacted by deportation. The Declaration was read publicly for the first time during the program and will serve as a guiding document for coordinated national actions in the months ahead.
Throughout the evening, speakers emphasized the need for a bottom-up, participatory approach to the anniversary, positioning the effort as a response to more centralized and top-down federal programming tied to the 250th.
The event featured a cross-movement panel discussion on building power across immigrant, labor, racial justice, and youth-led movements, with participation from leaders including Murad Awawdeh of the New York Immigration Coalition, Zakiyah Shaakir-Ansari of Alliance for Quality Education, and Tamika Mallory of Until Freedom.
The program also highlighted the cultural dimension of the mobilization, with performances from the Resistance Revival Chorus, the Middle Collegiate Church Gospel Choir, Keris Lové, Mysonne the General, and The Freedom Dabke Group, as well as a live DJ set from Dr. Justis Lopez (DJ Faro). Attendees participated in public readings of “Letters to America,” sharing personal reflections on the country’s past, present, and future.
Installation artwork by labor activist Wyatt Closs, titled “We Be Going” was on display as part of a broader creative effort that will travel to cities across the country in the lead-up to June 27 and July 4 actions.
The gathering brought together a wide-ranging coalition of organizations including Alliance for Quality Education, Arab American Association of New York, Faith for Black Lives, Justice League NYC, Malikah, MPower Change, New York Immigration Coalition, One Fair Wage, Poderistas, Reform Alliance, The Gathering for Justice, Until Freedom, and others.
Organizers say the next phase of the initiative will focus on mobilizing thousands nationwide for June 27, while continuing to expand engagement and participation in communities across the country.
“The next 250 years will not be written for us — they will be written by us,” said Carmen Pérez.