Collage by Sarah Hairston
On July 4, 1776 a cadre of land-owning white guys declared themselves independent from the reign of King George III. The rest of us were fighting for those rights every day prior and have continued fighting for those same freedoms every day since. This July, The Lighthouse is celebrating that ongoing struggle.
We agree with Nikole Hannah Jones when, in the opening essay for the 1619 Project, she wrote “our democracy’s founding ideals were false when they were written. Black Americans have fought to make them true.” During this country’s history the month of July has been an important one for Black folks’ freedom struggle: Harriet Tubman escaped to freedom in the month of July, returning to the South 20 times to rescue over 300 people; the South Carolina House became the first in the country to have a Black majority (87-40) during a July in Reconstruction; the 14th amendment, the one that gave Black folks citizenship, was passed in a July.
July is a good month to highlight all of the ways Black Americans have fought to hold this country to its ideals from before 1776 until today. Join The Lighthouse in reflecting on the struggles that continue to this day and celebrating the true American revolutionaries who fight for freedom and justice for all.
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