We, at the Institute for Common Power, recognize that the yearlong celebrations of America’s 250 years since inception will be wrought with multiple false narratives from the federal government and multiple municipalities that will attempt to erase the histories and contributions of marginalized groups as they work to promote information defined by white supremacist ideologies. We will strive to present TRUTH
The Institute for Common Power strives to facilitate the creation of a just and inclusive Democracy while working to eliminate racial and social inequity. Education can and must lead to action. To this end, the Institute’s “America at 250” series for 2026 provides clear, comprehensive, and truthful examinations of multiple topics related to race, culture, and politics in America. You cannot understand our modern existence without exploring the historical processes that have worked to create both tragedy and triumph. Register for courses, workshops, and vision conversations that help to historicize our modern world. You will come away inspired to create change!
America at 250 Offerings
Institute Courses: We offer a series of courses taught by award-winning scholars who are widely recognized experts in their fields of study. Each course is three to four lectures, with one lecture occurring per week. You will receive a course syllabus for guided historical investigation. You will also be able to interact with the professor teaching the course. The courses provide comprehensive examinations of multiple topics related to race, culture, and politics in America. Each course will be recorded and available for one month following the final lecture.
Vision Conversations: We seek to put you in contact with visionary change makers who work to create a just and inclusive democracy. These conversations will leave you inspired to create change. The audience is encouraged to interact with the speaker through questions and comments. We have welcomed past changemakers such as Nikole Hannah-Jones, Dr. Clint Smith, and Dr. Harry Edwards.
Banned Book Club: The Banned Books Club meets monthly to discuss banned or challenged literature–from modern works like How the Word is Passed to classics such as The House on Mango Street. The Banned Books Club events are facilitated by the Educators for Democracy team.
Educators for Democracy Quarterly Teach-Ins: We feature five educators from across the country each quarter who will deliver thirty-minute lectures on some aspect of American democracy. Each educator is an Institute for Common Power Educator Ambassador, which means they have traveled with us on a Truth & Purpose Leaning Tour. The lectures will have a heavy focus on history and work to connect the past to the present as they encourage people to engage in work that focuses on social and voting justice.
Truth and Purpose Learning Experience: Our Truth & Purpose Learning Tours are profound, guided experiences through the South that will imbue you with a heightened level of compassion and respect for history makers and inspire you to help create a future defined by integrity, equity, and democracy.
Diversity Series with University of Washington Department of Medicine: We are pleased and excited to partner with the UW Department of Medicine to bring a lecture series, free to the public, that features medical professionals and others who are working to disrupt, expose, and dismantle racial bias in medicine.
January - June 2026
IVORY L. KENNEDY JR.
“Reclaiming Patriotism: With Liberty and Justice for All”
Jan. 14, 22, 29 5 pm - 6:30 pm PST / 8 pm - 9:30 pm EST
As the United States marks 250 years, this three-part series offers a bold and honest conversation about American history, past, present, and future. We reclaim patriotism not as blind allegiance, but as a commitment to truth, justice, and possibility. Grounded in historical literacy, we uplift education as one of the most patriotic acts we can pursue. This is not about guilt or blame, but about American responsibility for what comes next.
This course moves us toward a new American future, rooted in the inspiration of our founding ideals, the realities of our history, and the enduring promise of liberty and justice for all. Join a movement powered by educators, students, and everyday citizens who use testimony to influence policy and make truth central from the classroom to the statehouse, to the Whitehouse.
Institute Course
Educator for Democracy Team Member
DR. TERRY ANNE SCOTT
“Reclaiming Democracy: The History of Voter Suppression and the Future of Voter Empowerment”
Feb. 4 & 11 5 pm - 6:30 pm PST / 8 pm - 9:30 pm EST
Join Dr. Terry Anne Scott, award-winning historian and writer, as she teaches about race and the history of voter suppression as well as the future of voter empowerment. Why was the 1965 Voting Rights Act necessary? How did people come together to secure voting rights for all? What did voter empowerment look like in the decades following the passage of the Act? What rights are challenged today and how do we create a just and inclusive society where voting is accessible and not suppressed? Dr. Scott will answer these questions and more. Join her for what is sure to be an informative, dynamic, and inspring lecture series!
Director, Institute for Common Power
DR. TERRY ANNE SCOTT, DR. YOHURU WILLIAMS, DR. DAVID DOMKE
“Truth + Democracy Teach-In: How the Montgomery Bus Boycott Changed Everything”
Feb. 1 10 am - 2 pm PST / 1 pm - 5 pm EST
February 2026 is the 100th Black History Week/Month in America. In 1926, Dr. Carter G. Woodson founded this annual highlighting of the lives and work of Black Americans. The Institute for Common Power celebrates this 100-year anniversary on February 1, 2026, with a National Teach-In for Truth and Democracy, on zoom, focused on the revolutionary, nation-changing Montgomery Bus Boycott. We will teach live from the iconic locations in Montgomery where city buses were boarded by (a) Ms. Claudette Colvin in March 1955 -- after a month of Black History Month education in her school -- and Ms. Rosa Parks in December 1955, where (b) Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered the speech that turned a one-day action into more than a year of democratic protest, where (c) Black citizens built a car-pool operation that outsmarted and outlasted white leadership attempts to crush the boycott, and we will conclude by diving into the collective-memory narratives offered by three public statues of Ms. Parks in Montgomery. This is an event that honors the boycott and the everyday Americans who made it happen, and carries forward its commitment to a more just and inclusive American democracy.
Learning Tour
TRUTH + PURPOSE LEARNING TOUR
Dr. Terry Anne Scott and Dr. David Domke
Dates Coming Soon
Join Institute Director Dr. Terry Anne Scott, CP senior leader and Professor David Domke, and other CP staff in an investment in CP's foundational principles of mindset, mojo, mobilization with a trip to Atlanta, Montgomery, Selma, and Birmingham AL. These are not vacations; they are challenging, growing, intentional deep dives into historical and contemporary realities of race and voting justice, realities that are foundational to the work of Common Power. The goal, always, is to move from education to action. The places we visit will allow us to examine the long history of people of African descent in this country, with specific emphasis on the modern American Civil Rights Movement.
TRUTH + PURPOSE LEARNING TOUR
Dr. Terry Anne Scott and Dr. David Domke
Dates Coming Soon
For Medical Professionals and Students
Join Institute Director Dr. Terry Anne Scott, CP senior leader and Professor David Domke, and other CP staff in an investment in CP's foundational principles of mindset, mojo, mobilization with a trip to Atlanta, Montgomery, Selma, and Birmingham AL. These are not vacations; they are challenging, growing, intentional deep dives into historical and contemporary realities of race and voting justice, realities that are foundational to the work of Common Power. The goal, always, is to move from education to action. The places we visit will allow us to examine the long history of people of African descent in this country, with specific emphasis on the modern American Civil Rights Movement.
Learning Tour