Celebrate the Fourth of July by committing to fight racism in Idaho and America
Growing up as an African American in mostly white Idaho presented many challenges. One of which was limited education of African American history and traditions. Even today, Idaho schools provide little in the way of educating our students about the great contributions, horrific experiences and historic celebrations of African Americans.
Today, we celebrate America’s independence and freedom. There will be picnics, parades, music and fireworks. Independence Day commemorates the passage of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776.
However, the words, “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” have always been problematic for many African Americans.
In fact, Frederick Douglass made his own famous declaration as part of an Independence Day celebration on July 5, 1852. “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.”
Since Douglass’ speech, America has made great strides in the pursuit of freedom and equality for all. Perhaps the most historic is the ending of slavery. Unknown to many whites, there is a day that recognizes the day that blacks were freed. That day is known as Juneteenth, sometimes called Emancipation Day.
Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865. That is the day that Union Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced that slaves were free. “In accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.”
This proclamation came more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation. It signaled freedom for Texas’ 250,000 enslaved people.
The following year, freedmen in Texas organized the first of what became annual celebrations of “Jubilee Day.” Commemorations included music, barbecues, prayer services and other activities. As Blacks migrated from Texas to other parts of the country, the Juneteenth celebrations spread.
As Pulitzer Prize winning author Isabel Wilkerson writes in her book, The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration, “The people from Texas took Juneteenth Day to Los Angeles, Oakland, Seattle and other places they went.”
To this day, there are still many parts of the country that have never heard of Juneteenth. But things are changing.
On June 17, 2021, President Biden signed legislation making Juneteenth a federal holiday.
“All Americans can feel the power of this day, and learn from our history,” Biden said.
Idaho has an opportunity to learn from its history. Idaho has long been known around the country for its famous Idaho potatoes and its racist past. Idaho further damaged its reputation this May when Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed a bill pushed by Republican lawmakers that outlaws teaching critical race theory and other social justice concepts in public schools.
As someone who has been substitute-teaching for the past seven years, there was and is no need for such a law. Further, the idea that white legislators would outlaw the teaching of systemic racism is the very definition of systemic racism.
Idaho can and must do better.
Let us celebrate the Fourth of July by committing to fight against racism in Idaho and America.
Dennis Patterson is an author, speaker and advocate for social justice. For 13 years, he managed the Idaho National Laboratory business ethics office. He was the founding president of the Idaho Falls African American Alliance. His most recent book is “Black Pearl: Living Black in Idaho.” He and his wife just moved to the Treasure Valley to be close to their grandchildren.
