Some Don't Celebrate our 4th of July

For many people in this country, the Fourth of July represents some very ugly truths hidden within the fabric of America's legacy.

When I was growing up in the late 1970s, I didn’t learn the full truth about America’s history from my teachers. Back then, you only got bits and pieces of America’s past. It wasn’t until college that I became more informed. When the Declaration of Independence was signed, many Black people were still enslaved, and they continued to be used as property for the gain of plantation owners for many years afterward.

When you think of how those in power controlled and manipulated the mindsets of the enslaved for material gain, it’s sickening and disheartening. So, while the government said that all men were created equal, the reality was that the state of the nation was only being changed for certain people. For that reason, the Fourth of July has always been complicated for me.

The Fourth isn’t just about cookouts and fireworks
Learning about history, especially the history of America, has made a lasting impression on me and changed how I celebrate holidays. While I can’t pinpoint the exact time that I came to the realization that America’s Independence Day was not my own, I do recall reading Frederick Douglass’s speech that he gave on the fifth of July one year, and it definitely resonated with me.

I was able to immediately identify that the freedoms he was discussing back then did not necessarily extend to people who look like me today. After reading that speech, the disparities between the Black and White experience lingered in my mind, all throughout my adulthood as well. Even as a child, I remember July 4th as being a holiday that did not carry much weight. We all just enjoyed the day off, had wonderful barbecues, and watched the beautiful fireworks.   READ MORE...