Our Civic Season: How Frankfort, Kentucky is Inspiring a New Generation
As we count down to Civic Season 2024, Maggie Gamson, Communications Assistant for Made By Us, is highlighting the stories of individuals and organizations across the U.S. who are creating this new national celebration. Let’s chat with Jessica Dawkins, Executive Director of Liberty Hall Historic Site in Frankfort, Kentucky.
“Gen-Z will get their history, whether you give it to them or not. So it’s best to be an ally.”
Nestled in the state capital of Frankfort, Kentucky, Liberty Hall serves as more than an old house that was home to the Founding Father who launched America’s 15th state. For neighbors today, the gardens, filled with native plants and flowers, serve as a background for prom photos. The sprinkler system invites the public to cool off in the Kentucky heat. Children gather around the palladian window at Liberty Hall, searching for The Gray Lady, a ghost and well-known figure in Frankfort. Liberty Hall cultivates an intersection of voices throughout history, from the national level to the local.
John Brown, the former inhabitant of the home that is now Liberty Hall, was the man responsible for Kentucky gaining statehood. Brown represented Virginia in The Continental Congress and served as a U.S. Senator for Kentucky. His wife, Margaretta, started the first Sunday school outside of New England and was a well-known author and teacher. But the story of Liberty Hall goes even further back than two Presbyterians and their flock of children.
For Jessica Dawkins, the Executive Director of Liberty Hall Historic Site, the role of museums and civic institutions in engaging young people is a vital one. “We highlight the story of the land itself,” Dawkins tells me. “The Shawnee and Cherokee tribes crossed over this land. The house itself was built using enslaved labor. There is so much history that is not just about the family inside the house.” Understanding our history– all of it — allows us to better prepare for tomorrow. Liberty Hall, and the city of Frankfort as a whole, are ready to help curate the future.
Inspiring a New Generation of Kentuckians
Civic Season is a new tradition that connects our newest federal holiday, Juneteenth, and our oldest, July 4th. Since 2021, Civic Season has become an annual ritual for self-discovery and civic upskilling, co-created by Gen Z and cultural institutions. Museums and historic sites lead their communities in the celebration, through programs, exhibits, and sharing resources. From walking tours to pizza parties, from movie screenings to poetry nights, Civic Season looks different from year to year and place to place. For Frankfort, this year’s celebration looks like a beautiful time to rejoice in the rich history of Kentucky.
With the 250th anniversary of The United States quickly approaching in 2026, this Civic Season is bound to be filled with fresh questions and new perspectives on our country. When discussing the ever-changing American Identity, we must look to our youth to determine how the next generations will define their roles in our communities. Liberty Hall is aiming to ignite a passion for civic engagement within the next generation of Kentuckians.
“Kentucky has been a catalyst for American history and the direction it took on so many occasions. Kentucky was the heart of early American sophistication, specifically with architecture, decorative arts, furniture, fine arts, fashion, even,” says Dawkins. “We are represented in most of American history in huge ways. And yet, ask the whole of America what they think of Kentucky.”
As I thought about my preconceived ideas about Kentucky, I realized how different they were from the Kentucky I had been introduced to on this call–a Kentucky with a vibrant ecological and cultural tapestry of historical relevance. Dawkins continued, “We are a site of indigenous history, of enslaved history, of children’s history, of women’s history. There are so many intersections of what it means to be an American in just one city block. We are working to reframe these narratives as we move forward.”
Young people–whether Americans, Kentuckians, or Frankfortonians, are more pumped about civic engagement than ever. Learning the history of our communities has become an extremely vital way of building our future with help from our past, and institutions like Liberty Hall serve as spaces that convene us, offer credible information, and help us navigate complicated conversations.
Liberty Hall & Civic Season
“I hate to do things small,” said Dawkins. Thus, Civic Season in Frankfort embodies “go big or go home.”
Liberty Hall has led the charge to bring this tradition to Frankfort, creating a city-wide celebration of history and civic engagement, starting early by beginning on June 1st, Kentucky Statehood Day. Locals can look forward to a Statehood Day Brunch at Liberty Hall, featuring delicious Southern comfort food and Celtic music, honoring the Scottish and Irish immigrants who helped build Kentucky. Families can view the new “Conscious Merit & Virtue: Civic Life at Liberty Hall” exhibition at Liberty Hall, or walk the storybook path in the garden, an interactive trail that highlights the journey to Kentucky statehood.
From a Juneteenth 5k organized by Focus on Race Relations (FORR) to a naturalization ceremony hosted by the Colonial Dames of America, Civic Season in Frankfort is a collaboration between the many organizations that influence Kentucky’s capital. Topped with live performances from Kentucky Shakespeare, radio coverage from Froggy Radio, and a firework show put on by the VWF of Kentucky, organizations across the state are coming together to celebrate this summer. If all of this buzz and activity weren’t enough, some VIPs are joining the fun too. But don’t take it from me: in the words of Frankfort’s mayor, Layne Wilkerson, “If it’s summer — it’s Civic Season!”
For more information on Liberty Hall, visit https://libertyhall.org.
