Happy Fourth Of July…

By Joyce Davis

I have never really considered myself as an activist. When it came to black affairs I would be a listener more than I was one to chime in with what I felt. Being a ‘light skinned’ black person was a weird thing because you experienced prejudice from every angle. Black people did not much like light skinned people because they thought they got treated better than dark skinned people and white people who did not like black people knew I was black and treated me as someone they looked down on. I had a crush on a boy in High School. My heart would flutter when I saw him. His brother and I were friends and his brother told me you know he doesn’t like you.

Wait, what do you mean? He said he thinks you have too much cream in your coffee. He told me that meant that my ancestors were raped by the masters and that’s how I got to be that color. Instant tears. One, I did not know about people who owned slaves were raping the slaves it had never dawned on me, but to lay that out as the reason you cannot go out with me; devastating. So when it comes to prejudice I was hit with it all the way around and I never felt like I ever fit anywhere.

When it came to The Fourth as we called it. We never celebrated it. I knew people who barbequed on that day. Some of us wore red, white, and blue to recognize we knew what we were celebrating. We had no talks of freedom just who cooked the potato salad? Thanksgiving you talk about how thankful you are and Christmas those of us that are Christian we celebrate Jesus. When it comes to The Fourth of July it did not mean the same to most blacks as it did with most Americans. Like I mentioned I would listen to what my black friends and family would say. “This day is for white people, it is the day they got their freedom.” “You think they are celebrating us, hell they are trying to find ways to kill us.” “I see you in your red, white, and blue but don’t think that won’t stop them from killing your ass.” I could go on forever with snappy sayings, but you get the picture it was not our day to celebrate we knew the history of this country. We knew we lived in a country that hated us and wanted to celebrate a time when we were their slaves. “You best believe they are remembering the good old days when they had us in chains.”

I always considered myself a patriotic person. I loved my country. I loved the good, I thought we did. I know better now but then I thought America was heroes to nations. It took a plane flying into the twin towers that I found out we were not so beloved around the world as I previously thought we were. People educated me on how much people hated America. My sister was living in France and she spoke fluid French and shared how when she talked to people about America, they saw us as bullies. Always sticking our noses in something that did not have to do with us. I was offended. I found out it was true.

Since those times I make a point to include myself in the day. I would go play pool and be around other people who were celebrating the day. It always seemed important to be around people. Again no big conversation about what the day means, just people hanging out appreciating a day off with people who showed off their red, white, and blue or their flags.

January 6, 2021 happened. Lauren Boebert tweeted early that morning “Today is 1776”. Which Trump supporters celebrated as the day of their freedom and the day they were going to start a revolution and take over America. This was the day they were going to take America back. They were sure this was the day that Joe Biden was going to be taken out of the certification and replaced with Donald Trump. It did not work out. Those that say it was Antifa or BLM that attacked the Capitol. I will point out the way we know Trump and Republicans knew who was doing it is because they called Trump to ask him to call them off. When Trump finally called them off he told them he loved them. He thanked them. He even tweeted “These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long. Go home with love & in peace. Remember this day forever!” So basically he said we deserved what happened because of how we treated him.

That day will forever be scarred in my memory. I remember laughing at the 1776 from Boebert thinking she is a nut ball no way are they going to plan an attack. I watched different channels to see what was happening and on Fox Trump was giving a speech and I was thinking he was trying to start a war. When I switched to CNN I saw them at the Capitol climbing the walls. I freaked out. We were what I used to see happen to other countries. A coup was happening in real f*cking time.

Now this day has a whole different meaning to it. No, we won’t celebrate later in history how the domestic terrorist tried to take over a Capitol building in honor of Trump and his weak ego. There will be no Officer Sicknick day who was murdered by these insurrectionists. We won’t celebrate Officer Fanone day who has been out front on this topic because he almost died that day protecting the people in that building who now want to pretend it didn’t happen. Instead the Republicans are trying to sweep it under the rug like it never happened, but because it happened July 4, 1776 has a new meaning to me. It is a day that will always be linked to Boebert’s tweet. In my heart I really and truly wish you a happy Fourth of July. I hope you enjoy your family and spending time with them. I will just be happy Juneteenth is celebrated now as a national holiday. Unlike July 4th I can share stories of how my people were finally free. In Trump’s tweet he said to remember this day forever. Even now as the Republicans try to bury January 6th we need to remind them their dear supreme leader told them never to forget it. I won’t and you should not either.

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