As we approach July 4, 2026, which marks 250 years since the Declaration of Independence, America is perhaps as divided as it was in the early years of the Civil Rights Era. This country, which was born from armed rebellion, has at it very foundation a set of grievances which among them wa “no taxation without representation.” The grievances that were articulated by the so-called Founding Fathers in reality were priorities of articulation of one set of white men against another group of white men in Britain. Within this context, the divisions that currently exist in America have a connection going back to this era in which those who dwelled in this land had conflicting visions, grievances, and priorities.
One famous example of differing visions was articulated by the formerly enslaved Blackamerican intellectual and abolistionist Frederick Douglass in a speech given on July 5, 1852. This speech which is commonly known by the title of “What to The Slave Is the Fourth of July? sums up the dichotomy of “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” One one hand, white men, who were predominately Christians, established an independent political order free from a monarchy abroad which afforded them due process and land rights. On the other hand, Black folks were chattel who were forced into Christianity in Southern states and had diminished rights in Northern states despite being free from physical bondage. This does not even account for the broken treatises of government with Natives which led to genocidal events such as the Trail of Tears. In fact, full citizen rights were not actually conferred into law for Blackamericans until 1967.
One discourse which exists in America is that this country has also been an exceptional and favored by God, the “beacon of hope” and “leader of the free world.” America’s problematic history which is partially rooted in oppression and bloodshed is whitewashed in this narrative. And when chattel slavery and ethnic cleansing are acknowledged, they are dismissed as vestiges of the past without contemporary implications whether on a macro level of how America became an economic power at its genesis through chattel slavery and stolen land to the micro level relating to historical advantages of one group over others.
Another discourse is that America has not progressed and in essence is the same country that it was from its origin or at best since the post-Antellum period. Meanwhile, Blackamericans currently serve in Congress, in state legislatures, as judges and mayors throughout the land. My parent generation who went to segregated schools have children who graduated at the top of classes in universities in the South, are homeowners in zip codes which Black folks could not live in 60 years ago, etc.
Both of these discourses do injustice to reality, and do not assist in advancing the idea of progress in making America “a more perfect union.” Teaching whitewashed history of America including recent history has no bearing on the contemporary is a false framework which frankly the likes of Tucker Carlson still perpetuate even if he criticizes Israel these days. Ignoring progress, on the flip side, that can be tangibly seen which did not exist when my 99 year old grandfahter fled sharecropping is equally dishonest. Our task today is to be people of truth which includes discarding of overlysimplistic narratives that feed our tribalistic inclinations. This should hold true whether irrespective of our phenotypes and religious affliations.
“Speak the truth even if it is bitter.”
Source: https://dawudwalid.substack.com/p/frederick-douglass-speech-what-to
Dawud Walid is currently a member of the Imams Council of Michigan who teaches at varying Islamic institutions and delivers sermons across America.
