When I was 11 or 12 years old, my family started a tradition. On the morning of Independence Day, after breakfast and before we left for any cookout, we would read “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” by Fredrick Douglass.
On the day of this country’s founding, the black people who worked our soil and built our nation were only considered to be 3/5ths of a person – to be frank, even that fraction is generous. Indigenous communities were raped, stolen from, pillaged. Freedom was not the same for all of us. As I’m writing this post from the relative safety of my home, military tanks are lining up in the in our nation’s capital and concentration camps are holding human beings hostage at our border. Freedom is still not the same for all of us.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” – that’s the American promise. It’s one we’ve never accomplished, an ever drifting horizon. Still, I believe in the work. I believe that every one of us has the responsibility to do our part and fix what’s broken. I believe in the unfinished project of America – its struggle, its activism.
I will not celebrate Freedom on the Fourth of July because American Freedom For All is a myth at best, an outright lie at worst. Instead, today I honor those who do the thankless labor of pushing our country towards being a better version of itself. Those who have been spat on, arrested, ignored, called despicable. Those who have felt the brunt of American violence and still choose to believe in an America that has yet to believe in them.
James Baldwin once said, “”I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.” That’s what inspired this project. Queer and trans people of color know more about the ugliness of America than most. But we’re still here. We’re still fighting for our liberation.
Let us lift up those voices today.
James Baldwin, Writer
Gloria Anzaldúa, Writer
Audre Lorde, Writer
Beth Brant, Writer
Barbara Jordan, Politician and US House of Representatives
Cherríe Moraga, Writer
Barbara Smith, Scholar and Activist
Marsha P. Johnson, Trans Rights Activist
Cecelia Chung, Director of Strategic Initiatives for the Transgender Law Center
Ocean Vuong, Poet
Chrystos, Poet
Sylvia Rivera, Trans Rights Activist
Thanks for this.
I’ve always been uncomfortable with celebrating the 4th of July. It feels like everyone wants to pretend that America is perfect. I can get behind using the day to focus on striving towards a better promise.
Now I’m gonna go see how many of the authors from this list are in my local library.
THANK YOU FOR THIS.
Wow. Wonderful, challenging, hopeful quotes. Will be reflecting today. Thank you.
Thank you for putting this together.
These are all amazing, Carmen. They reminded me of a poem by Chamorro poet Craig Santo Perez. It’s about what Memorial Day means to Pacific Islanders, but still.
Memorial Day in the Pacific, 2016
america declares federal holiday, we
mourn daily. america says 3-day weekend,
we recite 9-day prayers. america plays
sunday night football, we hail mary, full
of death, the lord fumbled. america
barbeques, yet no matter how much we eat,
the chairs around the table are still
empty. america marks the beginning
of summer, grief is our endless sea
-son. america marches
in parades, we dust photo albums.
america blooms flowers and fireworks,
we wilt and ashes. america observes
a moment of silence, we miss
their voices. america says national
cemetery, we say mass grave. america
waves its flag, yet our flags are too tightly
folded. america sings “land of the free,”
we whisper “continent of thieves.”
america says recruiter’s paradise,
we say home. america dons uniforms,
we covered in shrouds. america pledges
allegiance, our heartbeats, a continuous
gun salute. america recounts names
of the dead, we count the stolen
generations. america thanks us for
our sacrifice, we bow before our
cruel god. god commands, “be
all you can be,” we ask “when
will we ever be
whole?
My knowledge of the past, Divine Right of Kings, feudalism etc makes the spirit of James Baldwin and Barbara Johnson’s quotes you chose vibrate through me like a drumline.
The Pursuit is unfinished with many miles to go.
This is perfect! Thank you for this.
Thank you, Carmen. Today I’m thinking about how I can be a better ally and friend to people who have different identities than I do.
This is incredible. Thank you.
@c-p Would you mind if I posted the headline (and your name) and these quotes in my govt office? I don’t have social media, so I have to find other ways to lift up voices and share autostraddle content.
You inspired me to read Fredrick Douglass, thank you Carmen
Accidentally replied instead of commented again! Sorry
@nameiwontforget absolutely! go for it!
And thank you for your own inspiring preamble as well!