“When Are We US?” is a traveling exhibit funded by the National Historical Publications & Records Commission. It will be an exploration of the concepts of freedom, civic responsibility, overcoming challenge, and change as we lean into the ideals of democracy. The Historic Sites “When Are We US?” committee has created our own sub-themes to help guide individual sites in thinking of programming that allows us to expand our reach beyond traditional "18th century" sites. Our committee is interested in exploring voting—and how marginalized groups advocated for themselves in the years before obtaining the vote. We want to share perspectives of people who have become American by choice— and those who became American not by choice. And we hope to explore the struggle for human rights in the years since 1776. In short, "When Are We US?" is the question that helps us consider the roots of American democracy before 1776, and how the reverberations of American Independence continue to shape us today.
This exhibit will be on display on the second floor at the Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex.
Content warning: the primary sources on display reflect the perspectives of their creators and some contain antiquated and offensive terms.