From the Commons to Bowling Green: July 9, 1776–July 9, 2026 The Day New York Gave the Declaration of Independence Its Public Voice

Two hundred and fifty years ago, New Yorkers walked from the Commons to Bowling Green and helped change the course of American history.

Join EMBCA on July 9, 2026, so we can walk that same path.

organizations, and ethnic and multicultural communities in commemorating one of the most significant, yet too often overlooked, days in the history of the United States.

On Thursday, July 9, 2026, beginning at 6:00 p.m., participants will gather at City Hall Park in Manhattan and retrace the historic route down Broadway to Bowling Green, where the Declaration of Independence will once again be read aloud nearly 250 years after New Yorkers first heard its words and answered them with action. The evening will conclude with the premiere of By George, a documentary by Paul Moon celebrating New York City’s pivotal role in America’s founding.

Most Americans celebrate July 4, 1776, when the Declaration of Independence was adopted in Philadelphia. Far fewer realize that July 9, 1776, was the day those revolutionary words came alive in New York.

As the largest British military expedition ever assembled for North America gathered in New York Harbor, General George Washington assembled his soldiers and citizens near today’s City Hall Park. His army was outnumbered, poorly equipped, and facing an uncertain future.

Yet it was at that very moment that the Declaration of Independence was publicly proclaimed.

The struggle was no longer about reconciliation with the British Crown. It had become an irrevocable commitment to liberty, self-government, and independence.

The response was immediate.

Soldiers and citizens marched down Broadway to Bowling Green, where they pulled down the equestrian statue of King George III, the most visible symbol of British rule in the colonies. Its lead was later melted into more than 42,000 musket balls for Washington’s army—a remarkable transformation of imperial authority into the ammunition used to secure American freedom.

Within weeks, New York would fall to British forces. Washington would retreat. The Revolution itself would appear on the brink of failure.

But the ideals proclaimed on July 9 endured.

They survived defeat, occupation, sacrifice, and hardship—and ultimately gave birth to the United States.

July 4 gave America its Declaration.

July 9 gave America its resolve.

That is why July 9 deserves to stand beside July 4 as one of the defining moments of the American Revolution.

This year’s commemoration carries special significance.

For the first time, the original 13-star American flag will be raised alongside today’s American flag at Bowling Green, linking America’s founding generation with nearly two and a half centuries of national history.

Equally meaningful, one of the historic flagpoles marks the 30th anniversary of its installation by the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York. For three decades, these flagpoles have celebrated not only the American and Hellenic flags, but also the many immigrant communities whose contributions have strengthened New York and the United States.

For Hellenic Americans, this commemoration holds special meaning.

The ideals proclaimed in 1776—liberty, democracy, civic responsibility, and self-government—have deep roots in the political thought of ancient Hellas. America’s Founding Fathers drew inspiration from Hellenic history and philosophy, while only decades later Americans answered Greece’s own struggle for independence with an extraordinary wave of Philhellenic support.

Today, we are privileged heirs to both traditions.

We are proud that the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York, and AHEPA Delphi Chapter #25 will participate in this historic commemoration with the East Mediterranean Business Culture Alliance (EMBCA).

We warmly invite our churches, professional Hellenic organizations, student associations, cultural and fraternal societies, veterans’ organizations, philanthropic institutions, to join us as we stand alongside fellow New Yorkers in honoring one of the defining moments in the birth of the United States.

There could be no more fitting way for all of us to celebrate both heritage and our American citizenship than by walking together where history was made.

On July 9, 2026, let us retrace the footsteps of those who transformed the Declaration of Independence from words on parchment into the public resolve of a nation.

From the Commons to Bowling Green.

From 1776 to 2026.

Walk where history was made.

Join us.