FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – May 13, 2025
Media Contact: J.A. Lyon, Director of Marketing & Communications, jlyon@monticello.org
Ken Burns; photo by Stephanie Berger
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – The Thomas Jefferson Foundation, the private, nonprofit organization that owns and operates Monticello, today announced award-winning filmmaker Ken Burns as the keynote speaker for its 63rd annual Independence Day Celebration and Naturalization Ceremony. The event also celebrates the 249th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.
More than 50 individuals from countries around the world will take the oath of citizenship at Monticello on Independence Day.
Widely recognized as one of America’s foremost storytellers, Ken Burns has been making documentary films for almost fifty years. His latest series, The American Revolution, co-directed by Burns, Sarah Botstein, and David Schmidt, will premiere on PBS on November 16, 2025.
Monticello will host, in partnership with VPM, a special sneak peek of The American Revolution at Piedmont Virginia Community College (PVCC) on July 3. Guests will screen several scenes from the documentary followed by a panel discussion with Burns, Botstein, Professor Vincent Brown (Harvard), Dr. Jane Kamensky, and Jamelle Bouie from the New York Times as moderator.
Due to popular demand, Monticello has added a second offering at 3:00 p.m. The 7:00 p.m. program remains sold out. Tickets are $10, and can be purchased at Monticello.org/July3. Space is limited, and interested parties are encouraged to reserve their spots soon.
Since the Academy Award-nominated Brooklyn Bridge in 1981, Burns has directed and produced some of the most acclaimed historical documentaries ever made, including The Civil War; Baseball; Jazz; The War; The National Parks: America’s Best Idea; Prohibition; The Roosevelts: An Intimate History; The Vietnam War; Country Music; The U.S. and the Holocaust; The American Buffalo; and, most recently, Leonardo da Vinci. His 1997 documentary, Thomas Jefferson, includes a number of scenes filmed at Monticello.
“Ken Burns’s lifelong dedication to illuminating the American experience makes him the perfect voice to inspire us as we honor the hard work of citizenship, liberty, and constitutional democracy on July 4,” said Dr. Jane Kamensky, president of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation. “We are delighted to have one of the nation’s most powerful storytellers as our keynote speaker, and to invite the community to join us on the mountaintop. There's no better place to celebrate Independence Day than at Monticello.”
This free, public ceremony begins at 9:00 a.m. Parking and shuttle bus transportation will be provided from Piedmont Virginia Community College to Monticello. For those that cannot attend in person, the ceremony will be livestreamed on Monticello’s website, YouTube, and Facebook.
Since 1963, more than 3,950 people from countries around the world have sworn their oath of citizenship at Monticello. From Afghanistan to Zambia, these individuals have come to the United States for economic opportunity, family ties, love, refuge from crisis, and more. Their stories, shared with the audience, are powerful reminders of what it means to be an American.
"It is a profound honor to speak at Monticello on Independence Day,” Burns said. “Celebrating the enduring promise of the Declaration of Independence reminds us that history is not behind us, but within us — shaping who we are and who we strive to become.”
Independence Day at Monticello images and assets available for download here. Learn more at Monticello.org/July4.
About The Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello
The Thomas Jefferson Foundation was incorporated in 1923 to preserve Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson, in Charlottesville, Virginia. Today, the foundation seeks to bring history forward into national and global dialogues by engaging audiences with Jefferson’s world and ideas and inviting them to experience the power of place at Monticello and on its website. Monticello is recognized as a National Historic Landmark, a United Nations World Heritage Site, and a Site of Conscience. As a private, nonprofit organization, the foundation’s regular operating budget does not receive ongoing government support to fund its twofold mission of preservation and education. For information, visit monticello.org.