What Gen Z Is Declaring at America’s 250th
Insights from young adults from across the U.S. at Youth250: Our Declaration.
What happens when young adults ask the same questions our founding fathers debated when writing the Declaration of Independence 250 years ago?
Dozens of young adults from across the country gathered with Made By Us at the National Constitution Center for Youth250: Our Declaration to find out. Together, they debated the self-evident truths of their generation, named their grievances with the systems around them, drafted declarations for our collective future, and shared their commitments to make their declaration a reality. Their words were captured in Youth250: Our Declaration, a 10-foot-long public art exhibit that will tour the country to inspire communities to discuss their own declarations at the 250th.
Held steps away from where the Declaration of Independence was adopted in 1776, this event was rooted in our country’s past, but focused on positioning young adults as the founders of the next chapter of American history.
While I wish everyone could’ve joined us at the event, you can check out our event recap and coverage on C-SPAN. In this edition, we are exploring the tangible insights that emerged from the revolutionary process of writing a declaration for a new generation.
Insight #1 - We need younger and older leaders working together to solve our country’s problems.
Gen Z is often labeled as distrusting of older generations and institutions, but that narrative was complicated at Youth250: Our Declaration.
During our opening panel, “Generational Snapshot: Coming of Age in 2026,” I spoke with three incredible Gen Z leaders — Shania Bennet, Arielle Geismar, and Sofia Alvarez — about the opportunities, barriers, and innovative ways Gen Z is engaging with the 250th.
When asked about how she navigates generational tensions in her work, Arielle shared that the biggest disconnect happens when institutions fail to respond to young people’s urgency. The young people she works with recognize that “we are in a moment of crisis in our country, and when the house is on fire, you don’t stop to think about the fire. You just focus on putting it out.”
Then, in response to a question from the audience, Shania extended the same metaphor in a different direction. “I think a blind spot amongst our young people is while we know a lot, we don’t know everything,” she said. “When the house is on fire, … firefighters aren’t asking if their pants are ironed. They went to the fire academy to learn how to do their job, and that’s what we have to learn. Being educated and making sure we are showing up with our intentions matching the outcome we want … so we are not missing moments because we are not prepared. ”
Together, their reflections illuminate an important lesson. As young people and those who work with them, it is critical that we find the balance between youthful enthusiasm and institutional expertise.
The work of the 250th requires both an instinct to run toward the fire and the skills to know how to extinguish it.
Whatever the fire looks like in your institution or community, progress will depend on firefighters and good citizens working side by side.
Insight #2 - The 250th connects with Gen Z when it is about “all.”
The morning panel was a tough act to follow (in my un-biased opinion), but Dr. Michael McAfee, CEO of PolicyLink knocked it out of the park with his Founders Mindset talk.
Building on PolicyLink’s “We Are the Founders” campaign, Michael challenged us to reconsider the unfinished promise of the word “all” in the Declaration of Independence. As founders at the 250th, our task is to ensure that the “all” in “all men are created equal” becomes reality wherever we have the opportunity create change.
This message struck a cord with our Gen Z founders. When they began writing independently and debating their contributions to the declaration, the theme of “all” came up again and again.
Asked what truths are self-evident about Gen Z, the response that got the loudest applause was: “We carry the blessings and burdens of the past and see opportunities to change it.”
When debating “What systems or structures make it hard for our generation to succeed? “Independence stands in the way of interdependence,” quickly rose to the top.
Finally, when declaring what they stand for, the attendees echoed our Pledge of Allegiance, saying “Liberty and justice for all with peace and human rights.”
The workshop proved that when given the opportunity, young people see themselves reflected in our country’s founding story. They just need an invitation in and the space to connect our founding principles to the realities of where those principles have succeeded and where they have fallen short.
Insight #3 - Every young person has a message for America. They don’t need instructions. They just need a platform.
After finalizing their contributions to the declaration, attendees returned to the auditorium for the Youth250 Showcase. We told them there would be “Letters to America,” but nobody was ready for what came next.
Ryan Shank’s letter was a documentary short challenging the audience to rethink American mythology. Justice Brown’s was a spoken word performance building upon Langston Hughes’ “Let America Be America Again.”
Andrew German led a dance performance exploring the weight younger generations carry and the courage it takes to declare what comes next. We even had Wyatt Nako coordinate an interactive a cappella rendition of “Blackbird” by the Beatles. And yes, everyone in the audience participated.
Eight incredible Letters to America took the stage. But the opportunity to address the nation was not limited to them. When I turned to the audience and asked them what message they had for our country, the answers we got were inspiring.
“Dear America” is a simple prompt, one that invites Americans of any age to grapple with their feelings — good and bad — about our country.
By giving these young people the platform and agency to be creative in their message for our country, we witnessed the power of their voices at the 250th.
There has never been a better moment than the 250th to welcome all voices to our American story. Patriotic, pessimistic, or somewhere in between, the Youth250 Showcase proved that when young people have the platform, every one of them has a message for our country they are ready to share.
By the end of the day, these young leaders committed their “joy, curiosity, and collective action” to bring their vision for the future to life. Their declaration may not represent every young American. But it does show us that young people are not disengaged from the American story; they are actively trying to shape it.
At Made By Us, we believe the 250th will only reach its full potential if young people are invited to the table. We hope this example of Gen Z’s enthusiasm for the 250th inspires you to identify and create more opportunities for young voices in your own programming and 250th plans.
We’ll have more to share from this event in the coming weeks, so follow along on Instagram and LinkedIn to continue learning from these young leaders and explore how this declaration and the workshop behind it can engage your community.
- Alex Edgar, 22, Youth Engagement Manager, Made By Us
💡 Reflections of the Week for Your Institution
Tips and tricks to make your organization more accessible for Gen Z, directly from our Youth250 Community Members! This week, we asked our youth community: What idea or moment from Youth250: Our Declaration is still sitting with you? Here’s what they had to say:
“The moment we signed Our Declaration stuck with me. The fact that it was 2 blocks away from the original signing of the founding Declaration still feels surreal to me. In a way, we did exactly what our founding fathers did - dare to think of the next great American experiment and join ancient truths with present realities to create a unified, progressive vision for the future.” - Egan Schmidt Weiss, 26, Laurel, MD
“I loved the inspiring words from Dr. Michael McAfee from PolicyLink that reminds us that we are striving to realize and work in service of the “for all”. The ideals set forth in the Declaration are not far from what Gen Z hopes, but rather we are striving towards making liberty, justice, and prosperity a reality for all through interdependence.” - KaRa Lyn Thrasher, 30, Scottsdale, AZ
“I’m inspired by the work Shania Bennet and the Philadelphia Youth Council is doing - not only is it our job to uplift our generation’s voices but build systems to support the next generation’s ability to make their voice heard.” - Ryan Shank, 29, Carmel, IN
💬 What We’re Listening To + Reading
“Meet the 18-Year-Old Filmmaker Who Captured the Navy’s Historic Apology to the Tlingit People in Alaska,” from our Medium Q&A with Angel Jack, 18, Angoon, Alaska
“Young Americans are asking old questions. It’s valid — and frustrating.” from Ted Johnson at the Washington Post
See you in two weeks for some hope in your inbox!