SHOULD BLACKS CELEBRATE THE 4TH OF JULY?

Fredrick Douglass "The Iron Voice"

"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 cruelty 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." (Douglass's speech "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" was given at Corinthian Hall in Rochester, New York, before the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society.)

This reflection is not intended to dictate anyone's actions on the Fourth of July. If you wish to support the economic wealth generated by the fireworks industry, feel free to do so.

Nevertheless, it's crucial to understand that Americans invest billions of dollars to celebrate Independence Day. For instance, recent statistics show that between $2.2 and $2.95 billion was spent on the 4th of July in 2025. Historical data indicates that since 2000, when spending on fireworks was about $407 million, the amount in 2023 surpassed $2.2 billion. Over the last two decades, spending on fireworks has steadily increased, more than fivefold from approximately $407 million in 2000 to $2.2 billion in 2023. This situation is concerning. While millions joyfully celebrate a day rooted in a bloody history involving a legal system of human chattel, thousands remain sleeping under bridges, in tents, and without food. Who and what are we truly celebrating on this somber occasion?

Even though this speech is widely known and is becoming more popular, I wonder how many people have read a sentence or two. Or better yet, how many people know that twenty years before Douglass’ speech in 1852, while attempting to answer what the meaning of the Fourth of July is to a slave, there was already a growing concern that existed among the Negroes in reference to this celebration.

In 1832, a leader in the community, Peter Osborne, delivered a speech on July fifth stating that their celebration of the meaning of the Fourth of July should really be celebrated on the fifth. Attacking the double standards that existed in the Declaration of Independence, Osborne felt that when justice is shared by all of humanity, then and only then can the Negro celebrate on the Fourth of July. Osborne’s speech seems to be more optimistic; he envisioned the slaveholders changing their ways. With the Declaration of Independence in one hand and a Bible in the other, everyone will soon realize that we were all born free and equal. Osbourn's speech closes with these encouraging words, “Take, courage, then, ye Afric-Americans! Don’t give up the conflict, for the glorious prize can be won.” 

Since I have captured your attention with a little history, I would like to share some profound statements from Douglass' speech. These are just a few wise words he spoke that made me say, "Amen."

• Douglass said, "Fellow-citizens, pardon me, allow me to ask, why am I called upon to speak here today? What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence? Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us?"

  • I am inspired by Douglass's fearless spirit as he questions why he was invited to speak on the 4th of July. He made it clear to his audience that the Declaration of Independence was never meant for Blacks. Reflecting on the Declaration of Independence, I realize that it still has not been extended to Blacks or People of Color. Is it "natural justice" when ICE agents cover their faces and attack, incite fear in immigrants? This is a strange justice system!

• Douglass said, "I am not included within the pale of this glorious anniversary! Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us. The blessings in which you, this day, rejoice are not enjoyed in common. The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity, and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me. The sunlight that brought life and healing to you has brought stripes and death to me. This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice; I must mourn.

  • Douglass revealed a profound spiritual truth rarely found in speeches. He states that he is not part of this glorious anniversary. He laments his inability to smile and be joyful. He refuses to pretend to be happy. He cannot celebrate due to the ongoing mistreatment of slaves. Duglass feels compelled to mourn until he witnesses the freedom that restores souls, or like Jesus said, "liberty to captives ... recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free..." (Lk. 4:18-19)

• Douglass said, "Whether we turn to the declarations of the past, or to the professions of the present, the conduct of the nation seems equally hideous and revolting. America is false to the past, false to the present, and solemnly binds herself to be false to the future."

  • Wow! America is "solemnly bound" to betray the future. When I consider our government, Douglass's words seem accurate. Our nation, which professes a spiritual truth, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." The future exhibited over the years continues to show that this country failed to live out this proclamation. The Fourth of July is a lie; a false celebration. Place your trust in the God who gives us freedom today. God's mercy and grace are never delayed!

• Douglass quotes Psalm 137! “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down. Yea! we wept when we remembered Zion. We hung our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. For there, they that carried us away captive, required of us a song; and they who wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. How can we sing the Lord's song in a strange land? If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth.”

  • This might be my favorite quote. Douglass quotes Psalm 137! Douglass focused on the phrase "If I forget." He said, "If I do forget, if I do not faithfully remember those bleeding children of sorrow this day, may my right hand forget her cunning, and may my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth!” To forget them, to pass lightly over their wrongs, and to chime in with the popular theme, would be treason most scandalous and shocking, and would make me a reproach before God and the world. To sing a song to appease my oppressor is to believe my oppressor will let me go free, and we know that is not going to happen. The owner will never let go of what they own unless it benefits them.

As we approach the national holiday, I urge you, my friend, to remember Douglass's words. He resisted assimilation and refused to appease his audience with comforting words and a smile. Instead, he boldly spoke truth to power, reminding his listeners that this land, and its peculiar freedom, is strange! Observing freedom for a single day only to return to chains the next is a strange form of independence.

In celebrating the Fourth of July, remember our sisters and brothers who remember the Creator of the universe. Sing that song that never ends, God loves us and gives us natural justice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UJhj3caYOM

Author: Evang./Prof. Michael Howard, MACS

Facilitator, University of Dayton, VLCFF,

University of Notre Dame, McGrath Institute, STEP Online,

Fomer Prof. "The Presence of Black Catholics in the Church Today and Tomorrow" Loyola Marymount University

Founder of Eat The Scroll Ministry