Editor’s Note: Dr. Lonnie G. Bunch, III is the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and the founding director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture. The following essay was adapted from his introduction to the recent book Tragedy on Trial: The Story of the Infamous Emmett Murder Trial by Ron Collins.
The bicentennial of Lafayette’s national tour will kick off in mid-August 2024 with events organized by the American Friends of Lafayette (AFL), and following the route of his journey. With a wide variety of activities in 24 states lasting just over a year, Americans will once again have the opportunity to celebrate Lafayette.
The bicentennial celebration will begin on August 16 in New York City. Commemorations will follow Lafayette’s footsteps through the then-existing states in the exact order that he traveled in 1824 and 1825.
There are dozens of places you could begin a time-traveling journey through the Revolutionary War. I chose a 300-year-old stone tower in Somerville, Massachusetts that looks like a giant bullet. Why? Because what happened there on September 1, 1774 could have sparked the war seven months early and kept the towns of Lexington and Concord out of the history books.
Editor’s Note: Elizabeth Reese is the author of the recently published book, Marquis de Lafayette Returns: A Tour of America's National Capital Region. She also serves as chair of The American Friends of Lafayette Bicentennial Committee for Washington, D.C. and is pursuing a graduate degree in history at Gettysburg College.