A Triumph for Civic Renewal at America’s 250th

James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal ^ | January 28, 2026 | Richard A. Johnson III and Thomas K. Lindsay

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At a time when we Americans routinely worry about the health of our civic culture, the U.S. Department of Education has made a notable investment. Earlier this month, the department approved a $1.9-million grant for The American Civic Tradition at 250, a joint initiative of Texas Southern University and West Texas A&M University aimed at improving civic literacy in underserved communities.

The timing is deliberate. With the nation approaching its 250th anniversary, the program is designed to reconnect teachers and students with the ideas and institutions that undergird American self-government—an area where national assessments show persistent weakness. According to the 2022 NAEP civics exam, only 22 percent of eighth-graders reached proficiency, with the lowest scores concentrated in precisely the communities this grant seeks to reach.

For one of us, Dr. Richard A. Johnson III, the project carries personal meaning. Texas Southern University (TSU) is my alma mater, and, as a member of its board of regents, I have seen firsthand both the promise of its students and the consequences of uneven civic preparation. Through my work at the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Booker T. Washington Initiative, I have argued that education should cultivate independence, judgment, and opportunity—especially in communities too often offered lowered expectations instead of serious instruction.

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TOPICS: Education
KEYWORDS: 250th; america; civics; culture