Ann Arbor ― Dozens of communities across Metro Detroit gathered Wednesday to publicly read the Declaration of Independence, marking the exact day it was read for the first time in public 250 years ago.
In Sterling Heights, over 100 people formed the shape of the numbers “250” on a football field in the evening, with many reciting the words in unison.
Earlier in the day, in Ann Arbor, members of the Daughters of the American Revolution read aloud parts of the Declaration while dedicating two benches that will be used by veterans’ families in Ann Arbor.
DAR member Emily Salvette, who read the Declaration’s ending, said it’s the nation’s “most important document.”
“This is where we said, ‘people should be governing themselves, not an aristocracy, not a king, … not a czar,'” said Salvette of Ann Arbor, who is descended from patriots of the Revolutionary War.
Readings were planned for about 90 locations across the state, including Rockford, along with others around the world, at 6 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, said Robert Doran-Brockway, project director of America250MI. The Declaration of Independence was first read in public in Philadelphia on July 9, 1776. The event across Michigan and the world on Wednesday was called “Sharing the Spirit of America.”
Doran-Brockway was slated to participate in an event at Greenfield Village in Dearborn.
“What’s really cool about this is it shows the culture, not only of Michigan, but it shows the culture of every single different town and location where it’s being held,” he said.
In Sterling Heights, Mayor Michael Taylor led a reading of the Declaration of Independence at Stevenson High School.
“It’s very hot out today,” he said, “but we’re glad to have a big group of people to celebrate the country’s independence and its 250th anniversary.”
Doran-Brockway said the Declaration gave the Thirteen Colonies permission to overthrow “the tyrannical government” of King George III. The document is “kind of like America’s vision statement.”
“The Declaration is really the moral center of America ― you know, those words: ‘All men are created equal,’ and ‘Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,'” he said. “Even though Thomas Jefferson, who was the main author of the Declaration, owned over 600 people … he had the forethought to write ‘All men are created equal.'”
Ann Arbor reading
Along with the reading in Ann Arbor, the Ypsilanti Chapter of the DAR and the Sarah Caswell Angell Chapter of the DAR in Ann Arbor donated the two benches in honor of the nation’s anniversary. The benches are at Fisher House Michigan, a home that provides temporary lodging to families and caregivers of veterans and active duty service members who are being treated at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System.
Elizabeth Heller, the Ypsilanti Chapter’s regent, and her sister, Salvette, who is the regent of the Sarah Caswell Angell Chapter of the DAR in Ann Arbor, read the beginning and the final part of the Declaration of Independence to an audience of over 20 people in the early afternoon.
Heller said the Declaration’s words are meaningful.
“As relevant as they were in 1776, they are relevant today to us as citizens,” she said, adding that reading the document reminds people of the sacrifices citizens made to “establish independence.”
Sterling Heights residents read the Declaration together
Sterling Heights Community Relations Director Melanie Davis said over 130 people formed the shape of “250” on the football field at Stevenson High School on Wednesday. It included members of the high school marching band, who also played the national anthem. Many of the participants wore red, white or blue and held small American flags.
“While there are several communities across the state participating in Sharing the Spirit of America, we wanted to make our event a little extra special by making it a sort of ‘immersive’ experience,” Davis said in an email. “It was a way to create a striking visual moment of unity that also allows our community to really be a part of an historic moment that will be captured in photos and video and preserved for years to come.”
The participants included Tara McCulley and her husband, along with their daughter and son-in-law, who recently got married. Most of the family members wore American flag shirts, and all wore white.
“It’s the America’s 250th, and I wanted to bring family into the celebration of reading the Declaration of Independence together” and the formation of the 250 shape, McCulley said.
She said it’s important for Americans to read the Declaration and to know what the document and the U.S. Constitution say.
“It’s very important to remind ourselves of that history as we move forward and try to keep our republic,” she said.
She quoted Benjamin Franklin, who, according to the National Park Service, was once asked by a woman, “Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?”
Franklin responded: “A republic, if you can keep it.”’
asnabes@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Communities across state gather for Declaration of Independence readings for nation’s 250th
Reporting by Anne Snabes, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Anne Snabes, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
