Pride In The 4th : A call to action for the 250th anniversary of Independence www.prideinthe4th.com
18 June 2026 – San Francisco, CA: The 250th anniversary of Independence Day is a once in a lifetime event to celebrate our history and to ponder what the next 250 years will bring. Pride In The 4th is calling on Americans of all backgrounds to show up at their local Independence Day celebrations and reclaim the US flag as a symbol that belongs to everyone. We encourage people to attend their local July 4th events while wearing or waving their flag of identity or heritage alongside Old Glory.
“America is a vast, beautiful and diverse nation. We are inviting people from all walks of life to embrace and celebrate that heritage on this solemn and historic occasion,” remarked Brian McConnell, creator and organizer of this movement.
Pride In The 4th is a non-partisan call to action to reclaim the US flag as something that represents all Americans. Whether you live in a small town or large city, this is an action you can take to affirm your love for America, while also expressing pride in your identity and heritage. Mr. McConnell will deliver a keynote speech, “Pride In America”, that will be livestreamed on the afternoon of July 4th (details to be shared at www.prideinthe4th.com).
“The United States flag does not belong to one party or group, it represents all of us. America was built by immigrants and all of us can trace our heritage to immigrant roots. That diversity is what unites us and makes us a great nation and this is an opportunity to celebrate and reflect upon that,” added McConnell.
ABOUT PRIDE IN THE 4TH: Pride In The 4th was created by Brian McConnell as an inclusive and affirmational call to action to celebrate the nation’s heritage and to bring Americans together around shared civic values. For more information please email info@prideinthe4th.com or go online at www.prideinthe4th.com
It’s our job and our pleasure at David Perry & Associates, Inc. to represent BrewBird, an innovative coffee technology company redefining the future of single-serve coffee. With its whole-bean pod system, BrewBird combines specialty-roaster quality, one-touch convenience, real-time data and a commitment to reducing waste.
We are proud to support a brand bringing together sustainability, technology, design and a better cup of coffee.
San Francisco Must Keep Faith with the Abraham Lincoln Brigade
By David Perry
I write this from Spain, in the Andalusian town of Grazalema, where the memories and miasma of the Spanish Civil War — the first front against fascism — still live and linger.
Here, history is not safely confined to museums or reduced to dates in textbooks. It remains present in the landscape, in family memories, in unmarked graves and in the stories of neighbors whose parents and grandparents endured one of the defining struggles of the 20th century.
That is why I was pleased to read Sam Whiting’s excellent account of the ambitious new waterfront park planned for San Francisco’s Embarcadero Plaza and Sue Bierman Park. The proposed transformation promises something San Francisco badly needs: a welcoming, accessible and beautiful public space at the foot of Market Street, connecting downtown with the Bay.
But something essential was missing from the article and, more troublingly, appears absent from the public conversation surrounding the park’s future: What will become of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Monument?
For years, this extraordinary memorial has been obscured by the hulking Vaillancourt Fountain, marooned in a setting that prevented many residents and visitors from fully seeing, understanding or appreciating it.
Now, as the fountain is removed and the plaza reimagined, San Francisco has an opportunity — and an obligation — to give this monument the prominence it deserves.
The Abraham Lincoln Brigade Monument honors the approximately 2,800 Americans who volunteered to defend the democratically elected Spanish Republic against the forces of General Francisco Franco. They understood, years before the United States entered World War II, that fascism was not merely Spain’s problem. It was a gathering international threat.
Many of them never came home.
These volunteers were not sent by their government. They went because their consciences compelled them. They crossed an ocean to stand beside people they had never met, defending democracy against a military uprising supported by Hitler and Mussolini.
They were among the first Americans to confront European fascism on the battlefield.
San Francisco’s monument, designed by Ann Chamberlain and Walter Hood, is not simply another piece of civic decoration. Through images, maps and the words of the volunteers themselves, it tells a deeply American story about courage, sacrifice and international solidarity. It is the only government-supported monument in the United States dedicated to these Americans and their struggle.
That distinction places a special responsibility upon San Francisco.
The monument must not become an afterthought in the new park. It must not be placed in storage indefinitely, pushed to an inconspicuous corner or quietly eliminated from the final plans. The city must publicly reaffirm its commitment to preserve it, restore it where necessary and return it to a prominent, dignified and accessible location.
Better still, the redesign should allow the memorial finally to fulfill its educational purpose. Thoughtful landscaping, lighting, seating and interpretive signage could create a place where schoolchildren, visitors and residents encounter the history of the Spanish Civil War and understand why Americans volunteered to fight in it.
San Francisco should consult directly with the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives, surviving family members, historians, the Spanish Consulate, the monument’s designers and the broader community as the plans proceed. The monument’s future should be stated explicitly in public presentations, planning documents and funding commitments — not left to assumptions or vague assurances.
San Francisco is a city that has long celebrated those who resisted injustice before resistance became popular. The men and women of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade belong within that tradition.
From Grazalema, I am reminded that forgetting does not happen all at once. It happens gradually: when a name disappears from a plan, when a monument is hidden from view, when a difficult history is displaced by something newer and more convenient.
A renewed Embarcadero park can be a magnificent contribution to San Francisco’s future. But a city cannot build an honest future by obscuring the bravest chapters of its past.
The City of San Francisco made a commitment when it accepted and installed the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Monument. It must now honor that commitment — publicly, unequivocally and permanently.
The volunteers of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade stood against fascism when much of the world looked away.
San Francisco must not look away from them now.
David Perry is a longtime San Francisco public-relations professional, author and lecturer on history and culture. He is currently finishing a novel centered around the Spanish Civil War.
——————
The new five-acre park is projected to cost about $40 million, with construction beginning in late 2026 and completion anticipated in late 2027 or early 2028. The Abraham Lincoln Brigade Monument was dedicated in 2008 and is recognized as the nation’s only government-supported monument to the Americans who fought fascism in Spain.
It’s our job and our pleasure at David Perry & Associates, Inc. to represent Tom LeNoble, best-selling author of the multi award winning memoir My Life in Business Suits, High Heels & Hospital Gowns. Additionally, a philanthropist and confidential advisor to founders, executives, nonprofit leaders, and professionals navigating meaningful leadership moments, Tom brings insight, humanity and resilience to every conversation.
14 June 1944: The historic town of Orvieto, Italy is liberated from the Fascist and Nazi yoke. This moment in time and the concurrent WWII era are central to the plot of David Eugene Perry’s award winning mystery thriller.
Currently in screenplay development and now in its second printing as the best-selling title ever for Pace Press / Quilldriver Books, this “elegant, twisty thriller” (Armistead Maupin) is “giddy with assassins, terrorists, shady priests, human trafficking, and megawatt conspiracies” (Kay Kudukis, Palm Springs Life) with “two detectives as sharp as Sam Spade and with the wit of Nick and Nora Charles” (Will Snyder, Bay Area Reporter). “Upon This Rock is fabulous. I can’t wait for the movie” (Jan Wahl, Emmy Award Winning Hollywood Reporter).
WINNER: Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA)
WINNER: San Francisco Book Festival
Get your copy at your favorite independent bookstore or on Amazon — instant ebook for Kindle or print — at the “Upon This Rock” link below:
