Demonstrators march towards the White House in Washington DC on 27 June 2026. Photograph: Leah Millis/Reuters View image in fullscreen Demonstrators march towards the White House in Washington DC on 27 June 2026. Photograph: Leah Millis/Reuters Building power Washington DC ‘This isn’t about any one administration’: protests in DC reimagine the next 250 years in the US Next250’s Declaration of Interdependence, a new art gallery featuring Americans’ collective values and hopes for the future, opens in McPherson Square
About this content Fabiola Cineas Sat 27 Jun 2026 22.01 CEST First published on Sat 27 Jun 2026 13.00 CEST Share Prefer the Guardian on Google M ore than a thousand people gathered on a block away from the White House on Saturday to unveil their vision for the US’s future, organizers said, with thousands more attending other events around the country.
At the Next250 All of US rally, held a week before the 250th anniversary of the country’s founding, organizers launched their Declaration of Interdependence , an art installation featuring the collective values they believe should define the next 250 years of America’s story. The pledge – a take on the declaration of independence, the country’s founding text – aims to build a country where everyone can earn a living wage, have access to green spaces and feel safe in their communities, activists said.
“This event isn’t about any one administration or president,” said Linda Sarsour, an organizer with the Next250, one of the grassroots groups that organized the event. “This is about staking our place in the historic archive. So when people look back at the 250th commemoration and ask ‘Where were the movements?’ they will see this commitment from all of us.”
Read more To create the Declaration of Interdependence, activists held listening sessions in 36 states, Puerto Rico and even El Salvador, where they collected ideas from people recently deported from the US.
What came back, Sarsour said, is that most Americans, from workers in Iowa to undocumented residents in Detroit to Black Americans in Mississippi, agree on a set of basic universal values: economic security, healthcare, safe schools and a livable planet. “Neighbor to neighbor, we’re actually not as polarized as people want us to believe,” she said.
At McPherson Square on Saturday attenders participated in a variety of activities meant to foster community. At one end, the DC non-profit Distant Relatives distributed food and clothing and offered medical services to hundreds of people experiencing homelessness. Nearby, others signed their names at the bottom of the large Declaration of Interdependence to signal their support for a more culturally inclusive country.
On the large outdoor stage, rallygoers watched an Indigenous opening ceremony, featuring drumming and dance by members of the Piscataway Nation, listened to keynote speeches by activists, sang along as the Morgan State University choir performed, and cheered for spoken-word artists and musicians.
“We want to show our children that this is what community is,” said Saileni Urena, the director of education and employment at Guns Down, Life Up, a community organization based in the Bronx that seeks to end gun violence. Urena traveled with a group of 20 students to attend the event. “This is a very vulnerable time for our kids who are at risk, and we’re here to join with others in the nation’s capital to find solutions to ending violence everywhere.”
Organizers…