As the United States prepares to commemorate its 250th birthday, a new exhibit at the D.C. Public Library enlisted local middle and high school students to tell the full history of the nation’s founding through art. “Freedom and Resistance,” now on display at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in downtown Washington, invited D.C. youth to submit their artwork to the exhibit. The Pulitzer Center, a nonprofit journalism organization, provided students with workshops and reading materials on themes of freedom and resistance to inform their art.The exhibit was inspired by “The 1619 Project,” the prolific initiative at The New York Times Magazine led by Nikole Hannah-Jones that examines how the history of American chattel slavery and anti-Black racism continues to plague the country today. “Most of these students are D.C. public school students,” said Hannah-Jones. “I’m a strong public school supporter, and it shows all the hard work of the educators who work every day to educate our students.”It took Kamau, a middle school student, about an hour-and-a-half to create his artwork, titled “The Keys to Victory.”“This relates to freedom because I believe that musical expression is also a part of freedom, but even though it’s music, we still find a way to receive oppression from it,” said Kamau. “‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’ is a way to combat that.”Kamau, a middle school student, titled his drawing “The Keys to Victory.”D.C. Public LibraryIn his drawing, a colorless figure is seen playing a piano, with the words “Remain free…resist the oppression” inscribed on its side. Above the pianist are the words “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” the hymn written by civil rights activist James Weldon Johnson. Kamau said that the figure was left without color on purpose. “I want people to focus on the fact that the person playing is left uncolored,” Kamau explained. “You can see by his hairstyle that he’s African American, but he has no face and no color because African Americans have been left out of important parts of history, even if it’s music, art, or any other form.”Over 150 student artists contributed paintings, drawings, photographs and more to the exhibit, which consists of three segments. The other two segments focus on the history of enslaved people in Washington and on artwork from the visual book “The 1619 Project: A Visual Experience.” Nyriah talks to guests about her artwork.D.C. Public LibraryNyriah, a high school student, was encouraged by her history teacher to submit a painting.“My history teacher was telling me [about the exhibit] in history class and told us about the different ways we can get a history lesson through our art,” she said. “I submitted my art piece, and I was so happy that I got in.”Her painting, titled “My Pen, My Sword,” is meant to represent the erasure of Black history and how trailblazing Black journalists like Ida B. Wells, Alice Allison Dunnigan and Hannah-Jones have used their pen to weave Black stories into the narrative of American history. “Women like Ms. Nikole have used writing to inform and to tell our stories and to tell our history — the truth,” she continued.“Freedom and Resistance: An Exhibition Inspired by The 1619 Project” runs through March 15.