For the first time in a long time, I’ve given deep thought about the Fourth of July and what it symbolizes for me. While the nation celebrates its independence and freedom from Great Britain, millions of Black and Brown people still do not get to reap the benefits of said independence and live in a perpetual state of fear and oppression.

A speech by abolitionist Frederick Douglass has been circulating around the Internets today and I wanted to share it with my readers to remind us of what the Fourth of July really is for Black and Brown folk.

It is not a day of independence, freedom, or liberty.

It wasn’t in 1776 and it still isn’t in 2015. Continue reading →