Independence Day- 4th of July
The 4th of July is still celebrated with a parade in Kaufman. TX. This year on Saturday the 3rd; the local elected officials, business owners, and organizations lined up in their cars and trucks decorated in red, white, and blue. Candy throwing and children squealing were part of the sights and sounds, as we practiced our best slow-pitch throw (of candy) and waves to parents, yelling out “Happy 4th of July!”
For some the celebration of the 4th has gotten complicated as we celebrate our country’s independence. Notions that our country was founded in 1619 when the first slave ship arrived in America is wrong. To conflate these 2 historic events diminishes the importance of both these events in our history. Our founders declared our independence from a tyrannical government that was oppressing the American colonies after many years of trying to negotiate with the King for better treatment of the colonials and later for our independence when finally they had enough and decried the English king. It is not lost on anyone that while our forefathers struggled under the yoke of an oppressive England; they enslaved, brutalized, and used the free labor of Africans in America to help build this great country. Nonetheless, Thomas Jefferson’s declaration of independence enshrines the rights that today free African American enjoy and for that we can be grateful. If you haven’t read the Declaration of Independence in awhile, pick up a copy and read it; don’t have one- look it up on the internet. Read over the document. It is historic and it gives us as Americans a road map to freedom. Happy 4th of July!
Posted on 04 Jul 2021, 14:10 - Category: News