This year I was asked, what we celebrate on July 4th. And this is what I told them
The Red
The blood of millions spilled on our soil, lands built on enslavement of one culture, and the genocide of another. The unwavering dogma of 'The American Way', from sea to shining sea. The promise of opportunity and a fresh start, only become a pillar of an endless weight of a gold road they would need to pave.
The White
Our founding fathers, who with the promise of life,liberty, and the pursuit of happiness created a document with the premise of all men are created equal, but some more equal than others. We freed the slaves on December 6, 1865, and would not see radical change until more than a hundred years later to enforce that equality. We would need to see two world wars, and fight for change for 100 more years until we saw civil rights manifest.
The Blue
Being tough on crime became the norm, with the nods of congress agreeing in unison that you will not be bothered if you obey laws. Systemic racism was legal in a dictator's Germany, and separate but equal was also legal. Laws are not a wholly effective means of determining our moralities, and not all laws are moral.
"Today, the United States makes up about 5% of the world's population and has 21% of the world's prisoners."
"African Americans are incarcerated at more than 5 times the rate of whites."
"Spending on prisons and jails has increased at triple the rate of spending on Pre‐K‐12 public education in the last thirty years."
So you tell me, if America was ever great, was it during the struggles to fight for equal rights?
Is it during our history that we have tried to erase for it being "too dark" ?
When the fireworks fly into the sky tonight, I ask you to ask yourself "What am I celebrating?" "Why am I celebrating it?" "Who is a country free for if not all its people?"
[Statistics taken from NAACP]
