Celebrate or Demonstrate ’76

A new exhibition at Penn’s Van Pelt Library reminds us that America’s 200th birthday in 1976 was not a time of complete unity, either.

Celebrate or Demonstrate: Philadelphia and Bicentennial Discontent. Through May 15, 2026. Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center, 1st floor, University of Pennsylvania, 3420 Walnut Street, Philadelphia.

As the 2026 news cycle churns, it’s sometimes hard to remember the United States is celebrating 250 years of unity. But a new exhibition at Penn’s Van Pelt Library reminds us that America’s 200th birthday in 1976 was not a time of complete unity, either. Celebrate or Demonstrate: Philadelphia and Bicentennial Discontent runs through May 15, 2026, at Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center, 1st floor, University of Pennsylvania, 3420 Walnut Street, Philadelphia.

Full article at Broad Street Review

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