Imagine encountering a kitchen table in a familiar public place or a striking painting on a street poster. Something unexpected makes you stop. You look and you want to know more.
A QR code introduces America Together and invites you to a four-day celebration of freedom and democracy.
The invitation
Several weeks before opening night, red, white and blue kitchen tables would begin appearing in cultural settings and gathering places. They are familiar enough to approach and unexpected enough to start a conversation.
Posters lead viewers to explore throughout the city
A poster on a wall and a card on a restaurant table become part of the same story. For a local host, participation can begin with a small, welcoming gesture.
Historic American Pop and No War exhibitions
Art creates conversations. A painting can spark curiosity, invite a different perspective and give people a shared starting point for an exchange of ideas. Historic American Pop explores history and shared memory through a contemporary visual language.
No War offers another perspective on conflict, peace and our responsibilities to one another. Together, the exhibitions invite reflection and conversation throughout the four-day celebration.
The proposed exhibitions would remain open across the four days, with opportunities for artist conversations and an opening gathering.
Music gives the gathering its energy
The second evening brings the audience together around a major musical performance.
The ambition is a headline artist whose presence makes the concert a destination in its own right, with a production worthy of the occasion.
Music makes freedom of expression something people can experience together. Brief moments of storytelling can connect the evening to the purpose of America Together while preserving the momentum and pleasure of the performance.
The planning model assumes 2,000 paid seats.
The American Table
On the third night, sixty tables. Six hundred guests. An evening built around the pleasure of a remarkable meal and the possibility of a conversation with someone new.
The American Table is the culinary centerpiece of Dallas and the Metroplex. Chefs, regional cuisines and personal stories would bring the richness of American life into one room. Tables of ten create an intimate gathering within a much larger occasion, giving companies, families and community guests a natural way to take part together.
Between courses, concise stories and conversations will connect the meal to the freedom, democracy and shared experiences at the heart of America Together.
A room designed for a shared occasion
The proposed arrangement places sixty equal twelve-foot tables in three symmetrical rows around the stage, with thirty tables on each side. Five chairs on each long side provide ten seats per table and six hundred seats overall.
Let’s Talk America
The final evening is envisioned as a two-part live show for an audience of 2,000: a Kitchen Table Conversation followed by a Presidential Conversation.
Art, music, food and the questions gathered across Dallas lead to this closing occasion, with freedom, democracy and America’s shared future at its heart.
We want the audience to experience an open, thoughtful exchange among people who have carried different kinds of public responsibility. Strong moderation, carefully prepared themes and room for unscripted responses would give the evening its character.
The following is our desired format and featured lineup. All named participants are proposed and subject to invitation, availability and written agreement.
Part One The Kitchen Table Conversation
The Dallas finale is intended to become the defining moment of America Together. Its opening conversation would bring together journalists, civic leaders, cultural voices, educators, veterans, democracy advocates, former public officials, students and members of the Dallas community to explore the common values and responsibilities that connect Americans.
The Presidential Conversation
The desired centerpiece is filmmaker Ken Burns in conversation with former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Two presidents from different political traditions, guided by a storyteller of the American experience, would bring an extraordinary range of perspective to the same table.
We envision a genuine exchange about the responsibilities of the presidency, the choices that test a democracy, and what Americans owe one another across their differences. Personal reflections and moments of disagreement would have room to emerge. The purpose is a constructive conversation rather than a debate or a sequence of prepared speeches.