What is the Fourth of July to us?
by Brittany Gail Thomas, Esq.*, Founder & CEO
As we embark on another month in a time where our country and our world is in disarray, disharmony, and actively disengaging from humanity, it is not lost on us that this month commemorates the very diversity that is being dismantled.
Each month is suppose to pay homage to the equity that we clearly need in this world. Each month is suppose to pay historical respect to the inclusion that opens hearts and minds. Each month is suppose to salute the fight for justice for the oppressed and marginalized peoples of these United States and around the globe.
In June alone, there was -
Eid al-Adha.
Juneteenth.
Caribbean American Heritage Month.
Immigrant Heritage Month.
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender+ (LGBTQ+) Pride Month.
That same month, a travel ban went into effect blocking access to Black, Brown, Arab, and SWANA, nations.
That same month, LGBTQIA+ people across the country’s rights were stripped and homophobic and transphobic hatred put their lives at risk yet another day.
That same month, Caribbean people across the nation faced the fact that the attack against immigrants almost certainly puts put their families in peril.
That same month, immigrants of color, and only immigrants of color, in this country were stripped from the families, homes, jobs, and communities they worked so hard to build.
Then we are left with the patriotic duty of celebrating the Fourth of July.
We echo the sentiments of the ancestor, Frederick Douglas when he said “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”
What is the Fourth of July to us?
The descendants of the enslaved.
The progeny of racial and cultural genocide.
The oppressed and disenfranchised.
The excluded and minoritized.
The racialized and underrepresented.
The victims of your hate-filled erasure.
It is with both our individual and collective voices that we dedicate ourselves to continue in the fight against the inhumane injustices perpetuated by hate that we witness in our country and beyond.
It is with love and hope for all that this country can be that we hold it accountable for what it should be.
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* All thoughts, opinions, etc. expressed are that of the named author and not that of any organization or company the author is otherwise affiliated with unless expressly indicated.
