The Fourth of July in 2024

What are We Celebrating Anyway?

The 4th of July is supposed to celebrate the day the United States gained its independence from Great Britain. The American Revolution gave birth to a free America. However, during that time, millions of Black bodies lived in slavery.

Since America’s Founding, the first five American Presidents owned slaves. Slavery did not officially “end” until 1865. However, the descendants of those first kidnapped Africans still had to endure racism and discrimination with the enactment of the Jim Crow laws and the rise of the prison system.

In 2024, Black Americans are still suffering under the legacy of the Enslavement Period and Jim Crow. Although we had our first Black president, Barack Obama, his election as President sent shock waves to racists everywhere. Despite everything done to our people in this country, we were still able to elect a Black man to the highest office in the land.

Obama’s election should have signaled the end of racism in this country. Unfortunately, that was far from the case. White people were now in fear of their very existence. Black people were empowered like never before, not since the Civil Rights Era under the leadership of Dr Martin Luther King, Jr.

When Donald Trump rose to the presidency, racists had their symbol of power and hatred. Despite…