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Week Five in 250 to 250

Letters from an American · Heather Cox Richardson · last updated June 28, 2026 – 8:02 AM

This was the fifth week of videos from the 250 to 250 Project that we’re producing to honor the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, and it’s been quite a week. For me, this week’s videos, taken together, illustrate both the complexity of U.S. history and how many different individuals have used many different approaches to change that history.

On a more personal note, they also show how many wonderful people have come together to brainstorm, write, edit, film, cut, and produce this project. It’s not every week you get to jump from Emily Roebling to Jimi Hendrix with a whole bunch of cool stops in between, and it took a lot of people to make such a journey possible.

You can follow the project at the sites listed below, or under “videos” at my own YouTube page: Heather Cox Richardson. Or just wait until I send out the week’s roundup.

A reminder, too, that we are asking people to post a video saying “I am America” to social media with the hashtag #WeAreAmerica250 (so we can find them).

Special Olympics, Narrated by Maria Shriver

Maria Shriver is a Peabody and Emmy Award-winning journalist and producer, a bestselling author, and former First Lady of California. She is the founder of the Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement at Cleveland Clinic and The Sunday Paper, and the co-founder of MOSH. Shriver tells how her mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, inspired by her sister Rosemary, founded the Special Olympics movement from a backyard camp built on dignity and inclusion.

Patsy Mink, Narrated by Senator Mazie Hirono

Senator Mazie K. Hirono of Hawaii was the first elected female senator from her state and the first Asian-American woman elected to the U.S. Senate. Senator Hirono shares the legacy of U.S. Representative Patsy Mink, who fought tirelessly for gender equality in American education.

U.S. Virgin Islands, Purchase of, Narrated by

Representative Stacey Plaskett

Representative Stacey E. Plaskett is the first person in a territory to be named a Ranking Member of a Select Committee and is serving her 6th term as a delegate to the House of Representatives from the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Jonas Salk, Narrated by Peter Salk

Dr. Peter L. Salk is an American physician, professor, and public health advocate. Peter previously served as president of the Jonas Salk Legacy Foundation, an organization dedicated to preserving and extending the contributions of his father, Dr. Jonas Salk. He shares how a team of researchers and millions of everyday Americans came together to defeat polio.

Willa Cather, Narrated by Rebecca Solnit

Rebecca Solnit is a celebrated American essayist, author, historian, and activist known for her influential works on feminism, social change, and resilience. Solnit speaks about Willa Cather, the Nebraskan novelist who captured the romance and struggle of immigrants in the Midwest.

Civilian Conservation Corps, Narrated by Harrison Ford

Harrison Ford is an award-winning actor whose iconic performances across more than six decades have solidified him as a pillar of American cinema. Ford looks back at the Civilian Conservation Corps, a New Deal program that put thousands of unemployed men to work improving America’s parks and natural lands.

Boundary Waters, Narrated by Senator Tina Smith

Senator Tina Smith is a leading advocate for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) in northern Minnesota. Last year, Senator Smith introduced the Boundary Waters Wilderness Protection Act to put permanent protections in place for the area, the first bill of its kind since 1978.

Obergefell v. Hodges, Narrated by Jim Obergefell

Jim Obergefell is a leading LBGTQ+ activist, speaker, producer, author, and wine entrepreneur. Here he stories the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court case, which guaranteed the marriage rights of same-sex couples across the United States.

Emily Roebling’s Brooklyn Bridge, Narrated by Tracey Enerson Wood

Tracey Enerson Wood is a celebrated bestselling author known for bringing the forgotten history of women to light. In her novel The Engineer’s Wife, she tells the true story of Emily Warren Roebling, who completed the Brooklyn Bridge despite tremendous obstacles.

Jacob Riis, Narrated by Alex Edgar

Alex Edgar is the Youth Engagement Manager at Made By Us, where he leads Youth250, the national effort to include youth voices in America’s past, present and future story. Edgar profiles Jacob Riis, the immigrant journalist and photographer whose unflinching images of New York’s tenements pioneered the use of photography for social reform.

Frances Perkins, Narrated by Cameron Katz

Cameron Katz is the Head of Content + Partnerships at Made By Us, the national network connecting young adults to history and civic life through more than 750 museums, historic sites, libraries, and archives. Katz honors Frances Perkins, the labor secretary whose response to the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire led to Social Security, the minimum wage, and the forty-hour work week.

Jimi Hendrix’s “The Star-Spangled Banner” Live at Woodstock, Narrated by Justice Brown

Justice Brown is a Youth250 Bureau member at Made By Us, the national network connecting young adults to history and civic life through more than 750 museums, historic sites, libraries, and archives. Brown discusses the powerful rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” that Jimi Hendrix performed at his closing Woodstock set.

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