What’s the Meaning of the 4th of July to Marginalized People?
by Lavonya Bennett | special to NewBlackMan (in Exile)
On the fourth of July, Americans gather to celebrate freedom from the British Empire. During this time, we reflect on the way this freedom has positively impacted the United States’ historical foundations of global domination. However, this celebration of American history fails to wrestle with how the historical foundations of 1776 and beyond impact Euro-Western culture today. In 1852, Frederick Douglass asked and answered the meaning of the fourth of July to the American Negro. In 2016, I ask marginalized folks, allies, liberals, conservatives, and everyone in between, what does it mean to you now?
The men who developed and signed the Declaration of Independence were wealthy, white, misogynistic, slaveholding, Native American murderers, and the sole beneficiaries of the system of oppression they were creating. These men were supporting, enabling, or raping, killing, and beating women of color. They were intentionally stripping people of color of their culture and heritage in exchange for captivity.
Our ability to celebrate American historical milestones while ignoring the historical implications of systemic oppression is grotesque at best. If the work of the forefathers during this time were the breeding ground of current American success, then so it is also true that the ever-present systemic oppression that plagues marginalized communities is also a result of our American history.
We are under the impression that we cannot voice pride in American history while simultaneously acknowledging historic injustices. In 1776, all men were not created equal by the criteria expressed in the Declaration of Independence. Those considered equal were cis-gender, straight, wealthy, white, land-owning, able-bodied men. Anything outside of that limited archetype was not equal and was not free. Our societal fear of systemic change continues to create barriers in access to “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” This is evidenced when people choose to pursue happiness through resisting systems of oppression, but their inalienable rights are met with violence, hate, and exclusion.
As we remember the independence that the 13 colonies gained from the British Empire, we must also remember those who were not and still are not free.
For me, Independence Day is a day to recommit to fighting for equity and freedom for those who are not free in America. It is a time to remember that Native and sovereign people were subject to mass genocide and erasure on their land; that LGBTQ+ people of color are murdered en masse for being their authentic selves, that our Muslim friends are not able to freely practice religion, and that my beautiful, melanin-infused family around the nation are still enslaved in a “free” society.
July Fourth is a day to remember to fight for equity for people with disabilities who are only acknowledge when they can be a source of inspiration to the able bodied; to remember the working class who are deemed lazy while being the structural backbone of the American economy, and to remember undocumented immigrants who contribute to sustaining our economy through laborious work and contributing over 11 billion dollars to the American economy annually.
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LaVonya Bennett is an Administrator in Residence Life, a division of Student Affairs, and an adjunct instructor at the University of Oklahoma. She serves as a Directorate member with the Coalition for Women's Identities through the American College Personnel Association. She can be reached at: Lavonyabennett@gmail.com
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