The 4th of July
“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. ”
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:
The end of slavery: January 31, 1865 (The 13th Amendment)
The right to vote for women: August 26, 1920 (The 19th Amendment)
The right to vote for non-white Americans: May 26, 1965 (Voting Rights Act of 1965)
The end of Jim Crow South: 1960s
The legalization of same-sex marriage: June 26, 2015 (Obergefell v. Hodges)
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.
