As an American, the Fourth of July is a great opportunity to spend time outside with family and friends as we enjoy a beautiful summer day. We eat great food, listen to our favorite music, and laugh all day long. July 4 is a great day because it epitomizes summer. It’s what we wish everyday during the summer could be like, and it’s like having a mini family reunion that happens every year.

This past Fourth of July was one of the best that I’ve ever had. While I didn’t get to spend it with family this year, I did get to spend it with great friends, and my 22 years of watching my father and my uncle handle the grilling responsibilities finally came in handy. I got to be the grill master for the day, and all my friends said they thought the food tasted great! I had a great day, and that’s how the Fourth of July should be. It should be one of the most enjoyable days of the entire year, but it doesn’t hold the same meaning for everyone.

As an African-American, the Fourth of July is not “Independence Day”. July 4, 1776 was not a day when my ancestors were able to celebrate their independence and their freedom, and so it feels wrong for me to celebrate this day as if it were. For me, it’s not a day to run around shouting “Merica” and bragging about how great this country is and always has been.

Now don’t get me wrong, it’s never a bad thing to reflect on and be thankful for all of the blessings that we have in our lives, and in America, all of us have plenty of things that we should be thankful for and not take for granted. However, America is not perfect and never has been, and rather than blindly screaming and shouting about how much better America is than any other country, we should all take the time to think about the shortcomings of our country, both historically and in the present, because that is the only way that we as an American people can truly make any progress towards true equality. As the saying goes, we can’t know where we are going unless we know where we’ve been.

This country has always had and still does have a plethora of issues regarding race, and rather than ignoring these issues, we should acknowledge them and strive to fix them to the best of our abilities. Until African-Americans aren’t getting killed by cops in the streets, aren’t being harassed and treated unfairly on a daily basis, and aren’t seen as “less than” any other race or ethnicity, America will never truly be the land of the free.

For those who might not know, the Independence Day for African-Americans recently passed. It’s called Juneteenth, and it’s been celebrated ever since June 19, 1865 when Union soldiers arrived in Texas with the announcement that all slaves were now free. It is a celebration of African-American freedom and achievement, while encouraging continuous self-development and respect for all cultures. I’d encourage everyone to celebrate it as the positive event in the history of our country that it is.

We are all extremely blessed to live in America, but we should keep in mind that all people are still not treated equally here. In realizing this, we should do our very best to improve this country of ours to the best of our ability. I believe our generation can make progress the likes of which no other generation before us has been capable of making. I can’t wait to see what we do with all of our potential.

I hope you all had a great Fourth of July!

P.S. Here is a link to a great speech given by Frederick Douglas entitled "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro". http://www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/douglassju...