My sister and I love to visit historical sites and museums and take random road trips across the country to learn and celebrate history with a hands-on approach. It’s no surprise that two sisters who work in education get a kick out of learning for fun in their free time. However, it was a surprise that we had not heard about Civic Season until this year’s season of events was winding down to an end. 

My sister and I met up for sushi in Little Tokyo in Los Angeles, CA, before visiting the Japanese American National Museum across the street. We toured the museum and spoke excitedly with friendly docents who gave us more insight into Japanese American history, and then took a stroll through the gift shop before wandering outside to check out the free resource fair and the My American Story Program put on by Democracy Now!  

We heard original stories performed by local storytellers: Flora White, Pauline Marguet, Billy Taing, Roselma Samala, Chai Savathasuk, Mitchell Nguyen, Sakae Manning, Sayuri Tsuchitani, Susu Schwaber, Kevin Charles Keizuchi, Jodi Chen, and Sofia T. Alvarez under the guidance of rapper, artist, and activist Jason Chu, and were impressed by their presentation and delivery. We heard different stories from varying backgrounds brought forth by unique voices. They told stories that made me laugh, cry, become angry, and discover hope under the premise that these were all American stories. It was during this presentation that I learned what Civic Season was and why it was so important for U.S. citizens to celebrate it. 

Civic Season is a new movement brought forth by the minds of Gen Z and carried through by cultural institutions. It is the flagship program from Made By Us, a network of hundreds of museums, historical sites, libraries and archives driven to share access to history for younger generations who have the most at stake. Civic Season is the time period between Juneteenth, which is celebrated annually on June 19 to commemorate the ending of slavery in the United States, and July 4th, which commemorates the moment a new nation was born. It is during this time we are reminded of the struggles and hard-fought victories in our ongoing journey to form a “more perfect union.” “Civic Season unites our oldest federal holiday with our newest, mobilizing a movement to understand our past and shape our future.” 

It’s imperative to note that an enduring U.S. democracy requires participation by all people, with each citizen understanding our rights and responsibilities. According to a December Gallup survey, only 28 percent of adults said they were satisfied with the way democracy is working in the U.S., a drop from the 35 percent in a survey following the Jan. 6 insurrection.  

Many U.S. citizens are worried that democracy is in jeopardy in the wake of the upcoming presidential elections this fall. People are rightly concerned after the abolishment of the protections established by Roe v. Wade, the most recent and unhinged Supreme Court verdict stating former presidents are above the law and have broad immunity from prosecution, and the attention given to the terrifyingly problematic Project 2025, a collection of right-wing policy proposals from the Heritage Foundation to reshape the U.S. federal government and consolidate executive power should the Republican Party candidate win the 2024 presidential election. However, now more than ever, concerned citizens must act to save the freedoms and democracy that we all have come to enjoy since the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 

I have never skipped a federal, state, or local election if I could help it, and I do not plan on revoking my rights fought tirelessly for by my community elders. I believe that anyone who says that their voice and their vote don’t matter spits directly in the face of the Black Americans and allied activists who died for our right to vote fairly in elections. I also believe that anyone who doesn’t study history is not only doomed to help repeat it but is willfully weaponizing their ignorance to help tear apart the fabric of this country and cause more harm to themselves and the rest of the global citizens whose actions affect one another.

July 4th may be the end of Civic Season, but it is the continuation of the fight for a more perfect union. I say this as a reminder in the wake of more court decisions popping up to strip away more rights for global minority groups. Pay attention and vote because you can’t complain about how things are going if you are not participating in the discussion.