Frederick Douglass and the Fourth of July

We’re nearing the end of a three day weekend celebration of the 4th of July. Friends and families gathered together to eat, drink, dance, play cards and enjoy having an extra day off work to enjoy a bright summer day. No one I know gives a whit about the meaning of Independence Day except to quote actor Bill Pullman as President Thomas Whitmore declare “This is our Independence Day.”

It’s interesting to hear that speech and listen to the plethora of speeches being made by politicians as they celebrate the birth of this nation. The speech that resonates most with me, however, is the one delivered July 5, 1852 in Rochester, NY by Frederick Douglass entitled “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”

This inspired speech captures the hypocrisy of the U.S. government and the church as the nation celebrated freedom while millions were enslaved.

Douglass’ analysis of religion, the Constitution and the tyranny of slavery are as astute today as they were more than 160 years ago. The racism of this country, woven into its very fabric, is alive and well. The powers that be – business, government and the church – have profited and continue to profit greatly by the institution of slavery and its aftermath.

Those of us who are descendants of enslaved Africans recognize well the words spoken so eloquently by Douglass. We have watched America embrace immigrants from Asia, Europe and other countries while consistently treating Americans of color as less than worthy of the same. We have watched our officials all out human rights violations of other countries while refusing to acknowledge similar violations on our shores. We have endorsed war on other lands declaring we are bringing democracy to the masses even as we stamp out any vestige of democracy here at home. Douglass calls out America for the duplicity perpetuated upon Americans of color by the government and the church.

This oratory (www.thenation.com/article/what-slave-fourth-july-frederick-douglass/) is more than a worthy addition to the tradition of parades and barbeques to commemorate this day. It is a reminder of the legacy America espouses to the world but has yet to fulfill.

“What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelly to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciations of tyrants, brass fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade, and solemnity, are, to him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy—a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices, more shocking and bloody, than are the people of these United States, at this very hour.”

Truer words have never been spoken.

Karen Ford is the author of Thoughts of a Fried Chicken Watermelon Woman, a collection of essays on race, gender, politics, religion and every day issues. It can be purchased on her website, www.KarenFordOnline.com.