>> Lynn Forney Young:
Good afternoon. I am Lynne Forney
Young, and I am one of the Private Citizen
Commissioners who had the opportunity
to serve on America250, and this is an exciting
day for all of us. It's a great day in history. It was 245 years ago today that 56 men started signing the
Declaration of Independence, risking their lives,
their fortunes, and their sacred honors
for what we have today. And we are here in this historic
building among many of you who are preservationist
in your own right, and how grateful we are to
be making history today, as we have this memorandum
of understanding. So, as we gather in this
great hall, where so much of our nation's history
is preserved, join us as we celebrate today. I have the honor to introduce
Dr. Carla Hayden, she was sworn in as a 14th Librarian of
Congress on September 14, 2016. She is the first woman and
the first African American to lead the National Library and
was nominated to this position by President Barack Obama
on February 24, 2016. Her nomination was confirmed by the United States
Senate on July 13. Prior to her latest post,
she served since 1993, as CEO of the Enoch Pratt Free
Library in Baltimore, Maryland. She was nominated by
President Obama to be a member of the National Museum
and Library Services Board in January 2010 and was
confirmed to that posed by the Senate in
June of that year. Prior to joining
the Pratt Library, she served as Deputy
Commissioner and Chief Librarian at the Chicago Public
Library, from 1991 to 1993. She was an assistant
professor for Library and Information Science
at the University of Pittsburgh, from
1987 to 1991. Dr. Hayden was Library Services
Coordinator for the Museum of Science and Industry in
Chicago, from 1982 to 1987. She began her career with
the Chicago Public Library as a Young Adult Services
Coordinator, from 1979 to 1982. And is Library Associate, and Children's Librarian,
from 1973 to 1979. Hayden was President of the American Library
Association, from 2003 to 2004. In 1995, she was the
first African American to receive Library Journal's
Librarian of the Year Award, in recognition for outreach
services at the Pratt Library, which include an after-school
center for Baltimore teens, offering homework assistance,
and college career counseling. She received a BA from Roosevelt
University, an MA and a PhD from the Graduate School of
the University of Chicago. Please join me in
welcoming Dr. Carla Hayden. [ Applause ] >> Carla Hayden:
Well, good afternoon, and welcome to the
Library of Congress. And Lynn, I must say, that
was quite a full introduction, and I wish my mom who's almost
90, could have heard it, she might have added
a thing or two. You know, that's how they do. But thank you, I'm so delighted
to welcome all of you here today as we really take a big step in celebrating the 250th
anniversary of this nation, and the Library of
Congress is delighted to host this historic event, with the American
250 commission, and our federal partners. As many of you may know, the Library of Congress is
the world's largest library, with more than 171
million physical items, and billions of digital items. And over the next five
years, from 2021 to 2026, we will be opening up this
treasure chest of resources with the American people. In the years to come, we will
open a new visitor experience in this wonderful
building, to let millions of people physically enjoy
the building and engage with our dedicated staff,
in the reading rooms, the exhibit galleries,
and the public programs that will be held. And as we welcome people here
to the Capitol Hill campus, we will also invite the public to what we're calling
our digital front door, by using our websites, social
media, and a smartphone app. Now, as we launch our America250
programming, we're excited to shine a light on the
American experience. The American Folklife Center
will engage in a major project on American foodways, and our
Veterans History Project will help us remember and
learn from the service of Americans in the
armed forces. There'll be partnerships with
writers, scholars and artists that will help inform the public
about our collective history and culture and inspire us
to think about the future. There'll be new publications
and online resources, exhibits and programming, and we
will be delighted to work with our partners
that are here today, because the Library's
collections are filled with stories that tell us who
we are, and where we came from. And as we share these
resources, we want to make sure that everyone feels included in
American history, so thank you to the partners, and being able
to celebrate this fair here at the Library of
Congress, and please join me in welcoming Mr. Frank Giordano,
Executive Director of the US and we all are going to
practice saying this, Semi Quincentennial Commission. [ Applause ] >> Frank Giordano:
Thank you, Dr. Hayden, thank you for hosting
this event today. I'm honored by your remarks
and your presence here today. It's truly an honor to be in
this historic institution. Thank you for all that you and
the Library of Congress does for our country, and we look
forward to working with you in the future, as you
said, for the American250. Special thanks to
the America250 team. I express my personal
gratitude for all of the work you do every day to observe this historic
anniversary. I acknowledge the Institute of
Museum and Library Services, and Department of Education and
their staff for their assistance in getting the MOU
to this stage. Thank you for your
continued support. [ Applause ] Thank you as well to our
commissioners in attendance. You've already met Lynn
Young, she's very modest, as our commissioners are, so
I'll just mention one thing for each of many things they do. But Lynn is the former
President of the Daughters of the American Revolution. And we have today with us,
Rosie Rios, who was Treasurer of the United States
for eight years, under the Obama Administration,
and she has told me this, that she is in the Guinness
World Book of Records for having her signature on
1.8 trillion, but close enough, maybe 2 trillion of currency. And finally, we have James
Swanson with us today, noted author and historian. We're also joined by staffers from our Congressional
Commissioners, which are Senator
Pat Toomey's office and Representative Bonnie
Watson Coleman's office. Thank you all for joining us
to mark this historic occasion. This will be the largest
gathering of federal agencies to sign a memorandum of
understanding in support of the 250th anniversary. We chose August 2, because
it is the day that 6, 56 members of the Second
Continental Congress started signing the Declaration
of Independence. Our mission is to commemorate
our 250th anniversary with inclusive programs that
inspire Americans to renew and strengthen our daring
experiment in democracy, with the hope that
the shared experiences of American250 will have
ignited our imaginations, elevated our diverse
stories, inspired service in our communities, and demonstrated the
lasting durability of the American project. We have four key themes to
help us accomplish our mission. The first theme, invites. America250 will extend an
invitation to all Americans to commemorate 250
years, the longest stretch of any continuous
democracy in the world. Involve. For this commemoration,
we are committed to involving as many Americans as possible, from every background
and every community. Number three, imagine. There's no more powerful
resource in the world than imagination, and
America250 aims to tap into every American's hopes,
dreams, and ideas and honor, in order to honor our past 250
years, and shape our next 250. Finally, inspire. We want to activate and
unleash the American spirit so that our descendants can look
back on us 250 years from now and see the effects that
we've made on the course of our nation, and this
critical moment in our history. It is now my pleasure to
introduce David Ferriero, the Archivist of the United
States National Archives, and Records Administration
to the podium. [ Applause ] >> David S. Ferriero:
Thank you, Frank. Hanging in my office is a
2-dollar bill, signed by Rosie, part of her trillion-dollar
legacy hanging in my office. 245 years ago, today, delegates to the Continental Congress
put their lives on the line and sign the official
record copy of the Declaration
of Independence. It was a bold move, announcing
a radical political experiment in self-government,
based on a set of ideals. Today, that iconic document
is on permanent display in the National Archives
rotunda. The National Archives programs
marking the 250th anniversary of the nation's founding
will celebrate the diversity of the American people
and the constancy of the political creed
that unites them. What draws Americans to one
another is their adherence to the ideals that inspired the
birth of our country, freedom, equality, self-determination,
as expressed in the Declaration
of Independence. Our programs will seek to
engage all people of all ages from across the 50 states and
US territories, with stories that reflect the diverse
origins of the American people and will offer opportunities
to connect with stories of the American Revolution, and
the founding principles upon which our country
was established. The history of the United States
has been a journey toward a more perfect union. Our programming will pay
tribute to the generations of American citizens who
have, through their activism, pushed the nation closer to
living out his professed ideals. Within the historical context, the National Archives
will invite Americans to consider the obligations and
opportunities of citizenship in a representative
form of government. Finally, as guardian
of the national, of the nation's original signed
record copy of the Declaration of Independence, the National
Archives will invite the public to connect with the Declaration
by coming to see the original, displayed alongside of the US
Constitution and Bill of Rights. In addition to disseminating
information about the decorations,
meaning an impact on the world, the National Archives will also
highlight the documents physical history that led to
its current condition and the latest scientific
research undertaken by National Archives
conservators and scientists, to ensure the physical
preservation of this precious document
for generations to come. As Archivist of the
United States and as an American
citizen, I'm looking forward to celebrating the 250th
anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, and
I'm especially honored to be here today to sign this
memorandum of understanding for cooperation in support
of the 250th anniversary of the United States of America. Thank you. [ Applause ] >> Frank Giordano: Next,
we have Anthea Hartig, who is the Elizabeth Macmillan
Director of the National Museum of American History,
Smithsonian Institution. [ Applause ] >> Anthea M. Hartig:
Good afternoon. Dr. Hayden, Mr. Giordano,
Dr. Ferriero, Miss. Young, all of my
esteemed comrades in arms, my dear colleagues,
undersecretary, Julissa Marenco. On behalf of Secretary
Lonnie Bunch, the Regents of the Smithsonian
and the entire institution, it's an honor to
be among you today. It's also a humbling honor here
to stand in this great hall, and also remember that
we're on the ancestral lands of the Piscataway people
and to be their guest here. While the MOU, we come
here today to sign, can be seen as perfunctory
and acknowledgement of our shared commitment,
let us think about it as we commemorate,
collaborate, consult, coordinate and inform each other of our work during the
Semi Quincentennial. Think of the signing of the
Declaration of Independence, of course, that the archives
is so honored to steward, and let us embrace together,
the greater challenges inherent in all of those verbs
I just rattled off. As stewards of our
nation's past, the future demands
our collective action and our determination
now more than ever. Together, we commit to telling
the comprehensive, inclusive and diverse story of the nation. As we take up the
charge inherent in James Baldwin's
1963 recommendation and analysis he gave
to teachers, "American history is
longer, larger, more various, more beautiful and more terrible than anything anyone
has ever said about it". When the Declaration
of Independence was but 60 years old, and
Angelina Emily Grimke of the American Anti-Slavery
Society grew more affirmed in her embracing of
quality, and of course, the horrors of slavery,
when she authored this, "I recognize no rights,
but human rights. I know nothing of men's
rights and women's rights". While the abolitionists
Bible was that King James, ours is the United
States Constitution, and the declaration
before it, "Of the people, by the people, and
for the people". That same year, in
1836, approximately on July 1, appropriately, right? Congress authorized the
acceptance of a request offered to the young nation
by an unrecognized son of a British Lord,
James Smithson. It took about 10
years of debate, and then Congress established
the Smithsonian Institution in 1846, or the increase in
diffusion, I'll leave out, "of all men" part today. We remain steadfast
in our commitment to help forge an identity
that is rooted in exploration, innovation and understanding of
what it means to be an American. Like our esteemed
colleagues here gathered, and especially here at
the Library of Congress in the National Archives, we
too, will open up our vaults, our collections, our science,
our research, and our hearts. We so look forward to our next
five years together in concert, fidelity, and dedication. Thank you so much, it's
an honor to be here. [ Applause ] >> Frank Giordano: Our
next speaker is Tom Medema. He's the Acting Associate
Director of the National Park Service
Department of Interior. [ Applause ] >> Tom Medema: Thank you. Thanks, Frank. Thank you, Dr. Hayden,
for hosting us here in this incredible place today, as we've heard so
many others say. To the Commission,
the Foundation, and the amazing partners
that we have gathered here, it's really inspiring
to be a part of. I think, like many
of you, I think back in my 10-year-old self in 1976,
and to find myself here today, it's a pretty amazing little
moment, as I'm sure it is for many of you, and inspiring. As we approach the 250th
anniversary of our nation, and the touch point of the
signing of the Declaration of Independence, the Department
of the Interior commits to telling the diverse
histories and inclusive stories of our nation and its founding. We will explore the precursors,
the impacts and the legacies of our people in our vast lands that would become the
United States of America. We will do so through
partnerships, facilitating research,
documentation, interpretation, and stewardship of our nation's
natural and cultural resources, our sacred spaces and
cultures, and the management of public lands, the places where many became
one, E Pluribus Unum. We invite the public to
experience their America in our nation's hallowed places,
to literally be in the room where this history happened. For example, at Independence
National Historical Park in Philadelphia, is the old
Pennsylvania State House, known today as Independence
Hall, where 56 members of the Second Continental
Congress drafted, debated, and 245 years ago today,
signed the Declaration. The National Park Service cares
for this place and many others like it, on behalf of
the American people. We will take this
opportunity to acknowledge and facilitate telling
stories and legacies of the harmful contradictions
embedded in the nation's founding, and which challenge our
highest ideals, contradictions that continue to challenge
us even today, as we endeavor to inspire a recommitment
to those ideals through this commemoration. We look forward to collaborating
with our partners here and around the country to
interpret those events, impacts and legacies of the
American experiment, including celebrating
our constitutionalism, representative democracy,
and all the things that have inspired the rest
of the world towards freedom. Thank you. [ Applause ] >> Frank Giordano: It's
my pleasure to welcome to the podium Jordan E.
Tannenbaum, Vice Chairman, and currently Acting
Chairman, Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. [ Applause ] >> Jordan E. Tannenbaum:
Good afternoon, everyone. It is an honor to be here
to sign this MOU on behalf of the Advisory Council
on Historic Preservation, the only federal
agency wholly dedicated to the historic preservation
of our great nation. It says in the opening words of the National Historic
Preservation Act of 1966, "The spirit and direction of
the nation are founded upon and reflected in its
historic heritage". So, it is our distinct pleasure to help you highlight the
important role Historic Preservation has played
in the first 250 years of development of this nation. Established by this same act, the ACHP promotes the
preservation, enhancement and sustainable use of the nation's diverse
historic resources and advises the President
and Congress on National Historic
Preservation policy. We also promote the economic,
educational, environmental, sustainability and cultural
values of historic preservation. Our unique capabilities allow
us to collaborate and engage with the highest
levels of government, as well as the tribal, state and
local levels, focusing solely on historic and heritage
preservation. In addition, the ACHP
oversees the section 106, Historic Preservation
Review Process, set forth in the National
Historic Preservation Act of 1966, which also is
commemorating a milestone in 2026, the Act
turns 60 that year. The ACHP strongly supports the
Semi Quincentennial Commission's focus on inclusiveness
of all Americans and has pursued the same goal through our Building a
More Inclusive Preservation Program Initiative. The ACHP builds inclusiveness
through many, many means, including its engagement
in programs with African American
Young Professionals from historically black
colleges and universities, and a partnership to use
its expertise to train and advise the next generation
of tribal preservationists. [ Applause ] Thank you. Regarding America250, we
stand ready to assist you in facilitating Native American
participation in the observance. Our involvement is an
incredible opportunity to highlight the places that
tell the full American story. These places play an
important part in our history and should rightfully
be recognized as part of the commemoration. The ACHP believes that the Semi
Quincentennial also could be a catalyst for exploring a
variety of policy ideas for protecting historic places, including implementing
enhancements to the National Historic
Preservation Act. So again, on behalf of
the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, their
24 members, we look forward to working with the
Commission, the foundation and other federal agencies in
preserving the nation's past and building for the future. Thank you very much. [ Applause ] >> Frank Giordano: Now,
we welcome Nancy E. Weiss, General Counsel,
Institute of Museum and Library Services
to the podium. [ Applause ] >> Nancy E. Weiss:
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and to our distinguished host,
and to our federal partners. On behalf of the
Director of Crosby Kemper, our Deputy Directors,
the National Museum and Library Services Board,
and the staff of the Institute of Museum and Library
Services, I'm delighted to convey how excited we are
to join with the commission and fellow agencies to engage
museums, libraries, archives, tribal cultural organizations, and communities throughout the
nation in our 250th anniversary. IMLS's museums programs were
established in 1976 as part of the bicentennial celebration,
and libraries and museums, as we've heard, have from
the outset, and continued to support our American
democracy. We now have over 140,000 museums and libraries in
the United States. My job today is to name the
many agencies collaborating on this effort. I thought it might be
interesting to do this by the dates on which
they were established. This chronology alone tells the
story of our nation and the ways that we have strived together
to form a more perfect union. So, don't worry, hold your
applause, and I clocked it, so it moves pretty quickly. 1789, Supreme Court
Department of State. 1800, The Library of Congress. 1846, The Smithsonian. 1849, The Department
of Interior. Alright, here's a tough 1862,
1939, 1953 or 1979, you pick, The Department of Education. 1870, The Department of Justice. 1923, The American Battle
Monuments Commission. 1934, The National Archives
and Records Administration. Excuse me. 1935, The Railroad
Retirement Board. 1947, The Departments of Defense
and The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. 1965, The National Endowment
for the Arts and Humanities. 1966, The Advisory Council
on Historic Preservation. 1969, The Inter America
Foundation. 1972, The Consumer
Product Safety Commission. 1975, The Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, The Bicentennial,
our museum programs. 1978, The US Office
of Government Ethics, although they broke off and became a separate
agency in 1989. 1980, US African
Development Foundation. 1988, The Defense Nuclear
Safety facilities board. 1992, The US Trade and
Development Agency. 1993, AmeriCorps or The
Corporation for National and Community Service. And 1996, the last one, Institute of Museum
and Library Services. There you go. [applause] A run through
our governments in history. So, we are encouraging
all agencies to sign on, these are just the first
who've come together. So, start practicing
your signature, whether like John Hancock on
the Declaration of Independence, or Janet Yellen or Commissioner
Rosie Rios on our currency, in person like some here, or
digitally, like many others, and let's continue this
journey to the 2026 together. Thank you. [ Applause ] >> Frank Giordano:
Hopefully there's no quiz on all those dates. It has been an honor
to share the podium with such distinguished and passionate supporters
of America250. Now, I'd like to invite
the principals to join me at the table to sign
this historic document. >> Presenter: Library of
Congress, Dr. Carla Hayden. National Archives and
Records Administration, David S. Ferriero. Smithsonian Institution,
Anthea Hartig. Department of State,
Matthew Lussenhop. National Endowment for
the Arts, Ann Eilers. Advisory Council on Historic
Preservation, Jordan Tannenbaum. Corporation for National and
Community Service, Dan Cole. US African Development
Foundation, Nina-Belle Mbayu. Thank you, thank you so much. [ Applause ] After this photo, I will call
it those who signed digitally. >> Frank Giordano: Leave
our mask on or off? >> Photographer: On please. >> Frank Giordano: Masks on. >> Presenter: Thank you. Please, have a seat. Now, I'll invite those
who have signed digitally, while the remainder
up here have a seat. National Endowment
for the Humanities, US Nuclear Regulatory
Committee, Institute of Museum and Library Services, Defense
Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, Federal Mediation and
Conciliation Service, US Trade and Development Agency, US
Office of Government Ethics, American Battle Monuments
Commission, and the Inter American
Foundation. [ Applause ] Thank you. [ Applause ] Next, we'll have Anna
Lehman, Vice President of the America250 Foundation
of Policy and Programming. Thank you. [ Applause ] >> Anna Lehman: Hi, everyone. So, I have been asked to
provide closing remarks. First off, one more round of
applause just for this day, this moment and the signing
we just all witnessed. [ Applause ] So, as you all know,
on August 2, 1776, 56 members of the Second
Continental Congress came together to sign the Declaration
of Independence in Philadelphia. Today, on August 2, 2021, we
witnessed the historic signing of this inner agency MOU, here
in the Great Hall of the Library of Congress, Jefferson Building. This is the beginning of our
shared effort to come together with 200 plus federal agencies to commemorate this Semi
Quincentennial and to continue to build towards the largest and most inclusive commemoration
in American history. Before I get any further,
I just have to say, I was so just overwhelmed
with the remarks today by the common thread throughout
what I heard everyone share, which is just this absolute
dedication that we all share to making sure that this
commemoration is inclusive, that this commemoration really
tells all of America's stories. That's going to make
this different than any other commemoration
in American history, and I'm so proud to be up
here, I'm so proud to be a part of this with all of you. So, while we wrap up a couple
of final thank you's, thank you, Dr. Hayden and the
Library of Congress team. This is more beautiful than
I could have ever imagined, and the level of detail
that went into this event, the Library of Congress even
helped us select the paper on which this MOU
was signed, right? I mean, it's those details that make this kind
of moment special. So, thank you to the
Library of Congress. Thank you to our commissioners, Commissioner Young Commissioner
Swanson, Commissioner Rios, for being here with us today. Thank you to the staff
of Senator Pat Toomey and Representative
Bonnie Watson Coleman, who both sit on our commission. And of course, thank you to
all of our ex-officio's and all of the federal agencies
in attendance here today. I also do want to special shout out to our sign language
interpreter here. [ Applause ] Just one small way
that we're making sure that every America250
event is inclusive. So, thank you for being here
today, we are so excited to begin the countdown
to 250 years, and really to inspiring the
American spirit together. A couple of housekeeping
things from here, we are going to do one more photo,
so when I'm done, I'm going to ask
everyone who signed, who's here officially
representing an agency, to please follow Terry Brown On
our Director of federal programs and partnerships,
follow Terry outside, we're going to do a
beautiful outside DC photo. I'm also going to ask
everybody else to join as well. We're hoping for one group photo
out on these beautiful steps. So first, it'll be a photo
with the signers, and secondly, a photo of us all together. We promise, we will be quick,
and we will get you out of here. We won't be coming back into
the building, so please take all of your stuff with you. On behalf of America250,
thank you for joining us today and let's make this 250-year
commemoration something to remember. Thank you. [ Applause ] [ Music ]
