Opinion: This July 4th weekend, a different way to celebrate the history we share

Editor’s Note: Lonnie G. Bunch III is the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. CNN — The American flag that flew over Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland, during the War of 1812 and inspired Francis Scott Key to write “The Star-Spangled Banner” is just one of the precious artifacts displayed at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, viewed by many thousands of visitors each year. The Smithsonian’s artifacts and archives capture the sweep of American history and the nation’s democratic principles, from the aforementioned flag that flew over Fort McHenry, to the portable desk Thomas Jefferson used to pen the Declaration of Independence, to the Woolworth’s lunch counter that helped inspire the Civil Rights Movement. Looking ahead to our nation’s 250th anniversary, the National Museum of American History realized that preserving our collective memory would need a collective educational effort. Many of our institutions’ myriad digital resources are available as part of “Civic Season,” including an online exhibition of the life and works of author and activist James Baldwin at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, the National Archives’ activity using documents to teach high school students about Indigenous peoples’ fight for universal suffrage and the Library of Congress’s “Our Common Purpose” series of conversations exploring civic life.