Each year in July, America’s patriotic narrative turns to celebrating our democracy.
When I moved to Philadelphia from Atlanta in the summer of 1976, the city was in full celebratory mode for America’s Bicentennial Celebration. With the city being the first U.S. Capitol seat and home of Ben Franklin, a Founding Father, I thought that good reason for such an elaborate celebration.
More so though, I reflected on my personal experiences and feelings about the super-hyper celebration and what it meant for me and other African Americans. After all, July 4 was always just a day off from work, a trip to Cleveland to be with my family, enjoy my mom’s barbeque, and watch fireworks on Lake Erie. With all due respect for America’s flag, the Liberty Bell, and the Declaration of Independence—all historic and iconic symbols for our country—I couldn’t help but think of what it might have been like for my ancestors in America in 1776. That led me to ruminate over the struggle for justice and equality for those of us who share the heritage of slavery.
My muse led me to read The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro, a speech made by abolitionist Frederick Douglass on July 5, 1852, at an event commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence. He asks a rhetorical question:
Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us [Blacks]? . . . This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn. To drag a man in fetters into the grand illuminated temple of liberty, and call upon him to join you in joyous anthems, were inhuman mockery and sacrilegious irony.
As biting as his oratory was, it speaks volumes of truth relating to American slavery and its incongruence with the founding principles, with a contextual thread that pulls at our current-day fight for equal justice, equality, and freedom.
The movement for Black lives and the awakening of millions of people, not just in America but across the globe, to ongoing oppression of Black, Indigenous, and other people of color begs our robust commitment to truth and transparency about democratic norms and should examine why some people are “in favor of imposing a condition on others that they would not impose on themselves.”
As we evolve in building more coalition voices built on political organizations such as LWV, civil rights organizations, and grassroots social justice movements—all fighting to dismantle racism and oppression in all its forms—it gives us hope: hope in moving toward a more perfect Union, and hope in the strength of our democracy as we battle the storms of becoming more inclusive, more equitable, and more just.
So this Fourth of July, as we fly our flags, honor our veterans, and enjoy our barbeques, let’s remember America’s ideals and recommit to fortifying its self-evident truths, that ALL are created equal with inalienable rights of Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.
—Pat Coulter
