Scholar Eddie Glaude Jr. reflects on America at 250

America’s milestone anniversaries—1876, 1926, 1976, and the upcoming 250th—function as rituals where the nation constructs a narrative of its founding while editing out the persistent contradictions of race. Princeton professor Eddie Glaude Jr. argues that these moments reveal a "divided soul," where the country imagines itself as a beacon of freedom while simultaneously operating as a white republic. This cycle relies on sentimentality, which Glaude defines as a mask for cruelty that treats racial justice as a philanthropic gift rather than an inherent right. By examining historical figures like Frederick Douglass and the tragic life of Moses Grandy, Glaude highlights how the nation repeatedly attempts to resolve its moral crisis through disremembering. Ultimately, the country must abandon its adolescent innocence and confront its history with the tragic honesty of the blues to achieve true maturity.