What To Do This Fourth of July

You surely have your own ways of observing the Fourth of July but we wanted to make you aware of some other activities happening in the NYC area beyond the usual parades, cook-outs, fireworks, and Coney Island Hot Dog Eating Contest. There may or may not be another “No Kings” protest happening — I’ve been seeing flyers like the one above, but no amount of searching has turned up specifics as to time and place here in New York. Stay on your toes! American Patriots celebrate INDEPENDENCE from a monarch on Independence Day, as well as (in Lincoln’s words) the birth of “a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” No single person rules the United States, and all true patriotic Americans should resist anyone who would attempt it. More on the American Revolution in our recent post here.

On a related topic, my friends at Radio Free Brooklyn want you to know about their own July 4 event, created in collaboration with artist Phil Buehler. It’s the launch of The Wall of Shame, a red, white, and blue public art project displaying the stories and crimes of the 1,500+ January 6 rioters pardoned by Donald Trump. The project is a follow-up to 2020’s  “Wall of Lies,” the 100-foot-long mural that drew international attention by displaying the 20,000+ lies Trump told in office.

The Wall of Shameis a 50-foot-long, 10-foot-tall outdoor mural spotlighting the pardoned January 6 rioters, color-coded to distinguish their actions: violent rioters appear in red, those who damaged property are shown in blue, and the remaining individuals are depicted in white. The installation will be unveiled on July 4th and is free and open to the public. The rioters’ stories, charges, and sentences were collected and fact-checked by National Public Radio.

The installation will be displayed outside the Pine Box Rock Shop bar at 12 Grattan Street in Bushwick, Brooklyn. The official unveiling by the artist will take place 2-6pm. More here.

Donations to help fund this project can be made at radiofreebrooklyn.org/donate