PEAK TO PEAK - While studying history, sometimes it has to be questioned and truly analyzed to get to the truth. Because the main narrative is written by the winners and the people in power and what is accepted by the cultural norms, it is important to look beyond the surface and find facts and authenticity.

Put yourself in someone else’s shoes to see the bigger picture or another side. Those are wise words from my dad. 

We say in the United States that the Fourth of July is Independence Day—but is it? And if it was, who became independent or free?  

In 1775 war broke out between the British and the American Colonies. According to The National Constitution Center, in June 1776 the Second Continental Congress formed a group of five to draft a Declaration of Independence. Those five were John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston. 

When they presented the document to the Continental Congress there were parts that Southern delegates did not agree with and those parts were taken out. Some parts were rewritten and some points were added.

This Declaration of Independence had many grievances against British rule. It was very courageous for its day, saying “all men are created equal” and “...unalienable Rights…Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

Yet reading further down on the document we read that Native Americans are referred to as “merciless Indian Savages.” Those words are still in the document. This is where learning about the Doctrine of Discovery is necessary. 

Nothing was said about women’s rights specifically or about ending slavery in the colonies. 

Systematic racism is a part of colonial history and United States history and present day reality that cannot be erased. 

The Declaration was approved on July 2, 1776. Delegates from the colonies started signing the document on August 2, 1776.

And remember, these little 13 colonies were at war with the mighty British Empire. King George III was calmly sipping his tea in 1776 while the American colonists were desperately seeking help from the French. 

The American Revolution lasted for several years. The Treaty of Paris, the treaty that formally ended the war, was signed on September 3, 1783. That was the day that the British American colonies officially became the United States of America. That was the day that the British Parliament (and the King) recognized that the American colonies were no longer under their authority. 

Should we be celebrating the birthday of the United States on July 2, August 2, or September 3 as well as the traditional July 4 date?

And who was gaining liberty in 1783? Native Americans were not. Genocide against Native Americans increased. Even today hate speech, derogatory language, and the idea that Native Americans are “less than” continues.

When are decent and moral people going to stand up to this in policy, education, law, and everyday life, language, and actions? 

The same can be said for African Americans, although their story is different, as many Africans came to the Americas as slaves, in bondage.

The last slave ship came into the United States in 1860. Although it was illegal at this point to import slaves (though buying and selling slaves was legal), the Clotida came into Mobile Bay in Alabama. 

Juneteenth is a very important day in United States history. But as we all know, attitudes do not change instantly. Can we try? 

Where is the acceptance for all people?

Why do we have this document in the United States that we love so much that states, “...Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” yet we seem determined to ensure that decade after decade not everyone in this country is given a fair chance of life, liberty and happiness because of the color of their skin, or because they speak a different language than English, or they are new immigrants (your family were once new immigrants), or they worship differently, love differently than you, their hair is different than yours, their food is spicy, or their ancestors have lived on this land for thousands of years.

When we celebrate on July 4th, what are we celebrating? We are celebrating the idea of freedom. But are we truly living it and giving that opportunity to others?

Booker T. Washington said, “To hold a man down, you have to stay down with him.” We are interconnected, and when you oppress someone you ultimately hold yourself back (on a micro or macro level). 

When we establish a world where no person is being oppressed or held back, when we build each other up and not tear each other down—that is freedom and liberty.