Weekly Anti-racism NewsletteR

Because it ain’t a trend, honey.

  • Taylor started her newsletter in 2020 and has been the sole author of almost one hundred blog mosts and almost two hundred weekly emails. A lifelong lover of learning, Taylor began researching topics of interest around anti-racism education and in a personal effort to learn more about all marginalized groups. When friends asked her to share her learnings, she started sending brief email synopsises with links to her favorite resources or summarizing her thoughts on social media. As the demand grew, she made a formal platform to gather all of her thoughts and share them with her community. After accumulating thousands of subscribers and writing across almost one hundred topics, Taylor pivoted from weekly newsletters to starting a podcast entitled On the Outside. Follow along with the podcast to learn more.

  • This newsletter covers topics from prison reform to colorism to supporting the LGBTQ+ community. Originally, this was solely a newsletter focused on anti-racism education, but soon, Taylor felt profoundly obligated to learn and share about all marginalized communities. Taylor seeks guidance from those personally affected by many of the topics she writes about, while always acknowledging the ways in which her own privilege shows up.

Taylor Rae Almonte Taylor Rae Almonte

The 4th of July

We’ve learned from elementary school through adulthood that this is a holiday meant to celebrate liberty and freedom, but who did the Founding Fathers seek to celebrate when they signed the Declaration of Independence? Whose freedom was secured when 41 out of the 56 men who signed that document owned slaves?

“What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. ”
— Frederick Douglass, July 5, 1852

Hi Friends!
Welcome to Issue 35 of this newsletter! Today we are talking about The 4th of July. We’ve learned from elementary school through adulthood that this is a holiday meant to celebrate liberty and freedom, but who did the Founding Fathers seek to celebrate when they signed the Declaration of Independence? Whose freedom was secured when 41 out of the 56 men who signed that document owned slaves? Let’s get into it.

Let’s Get Into It

The 4th of July commemorates the passage of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776.

  • From 1776 to the present day, July 4th has been celebrated as the “birth of American independence”.

  • Important Dates to Remember:

  • In 1776, who’s independence was being celebrated?

    • Not enslaved Americans (86 years until the end of slavery).

    • Not women (144 years until women will have the right to vote).

    • Not people of color (189 years until the Voting Rights Act).

    • Not Black Americans (about 189 years until the end of Jim Crow Laws).

    • Not gay or queer Americans (239 years until same sex marriage).

    • And still today we wait for so much more equality for the majority of Americans — POC, Indigenous, Black, Queer, Trans* Americans and so many others.

  • In 1852 (13 years before the end of slavery), Fredrick Douglas delivered one of his most famous speeches, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” Watch his descendants recite some of his most poignant lines.

As you barbecue and ignite fireworks this 4th of July, remember that many still wait for the promise of liberty and justice. That freedom has yet to be granted to all.

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