A Call for Declaration! Readings wanted July 4

A letter from Owen Brown Gravesite Committee regarding Fourth of July plans…

Dear Friends,

On behalf of Altadena's Owen Brown Gravesite Committee, I’d like to invite you and your organization to participate in an Independence Day live-stream celebration the morning of July 4, 2026. Owen Brown was the son of John Brown, 19th Century patriarch of the most prominent Abolitionist family in America. Owen and his brother Jason settled in Altadena in the 1880s, looking for peace as they processed the trauma of losing 4 family members (their father by execution) in the pre-Civil War fight to end American slavery. 

We'll start with a 10-minute hike up to the LA County Historic Landmark of Owen’s gravesite from the top of El Prieto Road in the Meadows. Those who can’t make the hike can join us via Zoom as part of a nationwide July 4th event.

We are rolling three celebrations into one:

The 4th of July, America’s 250th birthday this year 

The Owen Brown gravesite's inclusion in the National Park Service’s Network to Freedom Program (Altadena now has a National Park site!), and becoming an LA County Landmark.

John Brown America 250’s program, “Renewing the Revolution” will live-stream from historic sites across the United States such as Harpers Ferry, Underground Railway locations, and Altadena! Our goal is to bring the Brown Family quest—and the Abolitionist effort to end American slavery, into conversations surrounding our country's 250th anniversary. 

Our part in this program starts with the hike from the top of El Prieto Road in the Meadows to Owen Brown’s gravesite on “Little Round Top”—named for the pivotal battle of Gettysburg in the Civil War. Owen and Jason Brown homesteaded this land, now Altadena, after Owen spent 20 years on the lam avoiding arrest for his part in the raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859. The raid, 18 months before the outbreak of the Civil War, has been called its first, unofficial battle. 

Earlier in 1859, on July 4th, John and Owen published  “The Declaration of Liberty,” which paralleled the language of the Declaration of Independence—arguing that, logically, Americans should not rest until the country lived up to the words “all men are created equal,” and free its enslaved population. John and Owen took it a step further, asserting that all women should also have equal rights with men! 

Owen Brown is Altadena’s own local hero of national significance, far ahead of his time, whose legacy we will celebrate this Fourth of July. We are inviting members from different civic groups such as yours to read parts of the Declaration. Historians will provide context as needed, and our program will be live-streamed across the United States. We will thus connect Altadena to other Americans celebrating our country's 250th birthday — at the same time acknowledging there is still work to do. 

There are a few ways your organization can participate:

1) Nominating a reader for this live-streamed event. We seek broad representation across Altadena’s rainbow population, and readers of different ages

2) Attending our live event

3) Sharing links of live-streamed programs with your membership so they can Zoom events from Altadena and around the country on July 4th. 

We also hope this celebration will bring Altadenans from all quarters together in service of a larger cause in the aftermath of the Eaton Fire, and inspire us to heal and rebuild a community where everyone can live and thrive.

Please contact me if you’d like to participate. 

Best,

Michele Zack, Chair, Owen Brown Gravesite Committee
John Burton, vice chair
Marietta Kreulls, treasurer
Chris O’Malley, education chair