—David Menconi, Down on Copperline
This year’s Fourth of July brings “Together We Are America” to downtown Hillsborough’s River Park, a day-long celebration of the 250-year anniversary of the nation’s birth. The free event has the usual trappings of such gatherings, with food trucks, crafts, a wide range of performers and (in an acknowledgement of a parched and rain-starved North Carolina’s ongoing drought this summer), a closing laser light show in lieu of fireworks.
But perhaps the most notable part of the event will happen fairly early in the schedule. Happening at 2:45 p.m. is a recitation of the Declaration of Independence as you’ve never heard it, “Well, I Declare!,” with music and songs by Hillsborough singer/songwriter Dawn Landes plus narration and oration by actor/playwright Mike Wiley. It’s a show that will definitely change your perspective on the document that launched America 250 years ago.
“When I was approached about just reading the Declaration of Independence, well, that’s not what I do,” says Wiley. “What I wanted to do was make the document itself come alive, be part of the conversation. When I cobbled this together, I wanted it to be more than just a dusty old letter of eviction to British troops. It should be a guide to how we become better people. More so than the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence is a guide for our best thoughts and behaviors even when it’s been in the hands of men who were guided by greed or weren’t morally sound.”
This will be the second public performance of “Well, I Declare!,” which was originally commissioned by the Piedmont Council of Traditional Music (PineCone) and made its debut this past April in Raleigh. Landes wrote one original song for the piece, but most of the music consists of cover songs – Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land,” Paul Simon’s “America,” Rhiannon Giddens’ “At the Purchaser’s Option” and Si Kahn’s “Here Is My Home” among them.
“It’s a theatrical exploration of what the Declaration of Independence means,” says Landes. “The reading by Mike, a black man, is powerful in and of itself. He and I learned a lot, digging into the history to work on this. People are having a hard time celebrating right now, and this idea of nationalist pride has become so polarizing. But I don’t buy the appropriation of patriotism that has happened. We end with ‘Here Is My Home’ as an audience sing-along, and it’s a really beautiful pledge to each other. That’s what I want people to go away with: We all live here, this is home and let’s celebrate what we have in common.”
Indeed, it is an enduring historical irony that Thomas Jefferson and other founding fathers were responsible for the Declaration of Independence’s lofty sentiments – while at the same time owning slaves. Wiley was shocked to discover that the declaration’s original draft actually included a call for the end of slavery. But that part was removed from the document before it was published.
“When I recite the Declaration of Independence, I leave that part in,” says Wiley. “There’s that old saying about how history doesn’t repeat, but it rhymes. When we performed ‘Well, I Declare!’ the first time, a number of people from the audience asked if I added in some things. No, I didn’t. But if anyone thinks I added lines about slavery or Trump or the current Congress, that says more about their feelings than I ever could.”
“Together We Are America” will be 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. at River Park, 228 S. Churton St. in downtown Hillsborough. Admission is free. No coolers or pets are allowed. For further details, see artsorange.org. The entertainment schedule is as follows:
1 p.m. – Apple Chill Cloggers with Blue Star Travelers
1:45 – Blue Star Travelers
2:15 – Clogging workshop with Apple Chill Cloggers and Blue Star Travelers
2:45 – Dawn Landes and Mike Wiley, “Well, I declare!”
4:00 – Tan and Sober Gentlemen
4:45 – We The People Parade with Second Line Stompers
5:15 – Los Peligros Del Norte
6:30 – Second Line Stompers
7:30 — New Creation Gospel
8:45 – Triangle Jazz Orchestra
9:00 – Independence Day Laser Light Show by Solar Syndicate
