There is no happiness in July 4th.

The 13 North American colonies were the only ones who fought for independence from Great Britain. And the newly independent nation still held black people in captivity, in slave chains, in shackles of oppression. The 13 colonies kept slavery to be legal.
What is independence without everyone being free? What is freedom if it can’t be celebrated while black people are in chains and white patriots parade in towns?
There was no freedom for everyone, there was no liberty on the stolen land of North America.

July 4, 1776 : “Declaration of Independence”, but slavery is still legal.

During the 19th century (1801-1900) there was a edited version of the Bible that is known as “the slave bible”. It excluded parts that mentioned freedom, liberation and equality among people. It did not contain any passages that might inspire those thoughts. This version was distributed to the slaves.

January 1, 1863 : President Abraham Lincoln issued the “Emancipation Proclamation” during the American Civil War, declaring that all enslaved people only in Confederate states were to be set free.

June 19 (Juneteenth) 1865 : General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston Texas and issued General Order No. 3, proclaiming that all slaves in Texas were to be set free.

December 6, 1865 : Slavery continued to exist in some parts of the United States until the ratification of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which officially abolished slavery throughout the entire country. Yet black people did not had equal rights.

1870 : The 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, and it granted voting rights to male citizens regardless of race and color.

1915 (The birth of a nation movie) : White superiority dominates in this movie and spreads misinformation of the culture of the black people. This movie was a fuel for the rise of the KKK in the 20th century.

1920 : The 19th Amendment was ratified, women gained the right to vote.

1924 : Many Native American men were not granted citizenship until much later, and their voting rights were restricted or denied in various states until the passage of the Indian Citizenship Act in 1924.

July 2, 1964 : The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. It had a broad scope and made it illegal to discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in several areas including : public accommodations, employment, education and voting.

April 11, 1968 : President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968 into law. AKA the Fair Housing Act, this legislation aimed to combat housing discrimination and segregation, making it illegal to discriminate against individuals based on race, color, religion, or national origin in the sale, rental, or financing of housing.

June 28, 1969 : The beginning of “The Stonewall Riots”. Then in June 1970 the first gay pride parades were held in several cities across the U.S. to commemorate the events and advocate for LGBTQ+ rights. Pride month is more than just celebration, is a protest.

Since the “Declaration of Independence” in North America, there has been no freedom and safe space for all. Native Americans were the first inhabitants of North America long before the arrival of European colonization and the “Declaration of Independence” and yet they did not had equal rights. Since the “Declaration of Independence” women had no free will and through time they voiced for equality. Since the “Declaration of Independence”, North America was no safe space for the LGBTQIA+ community and still in our present we witness the malicious acts from the opposition. Since the “Declaration of Independence” black people still struggles for equality when there is abuse of power and our present generation needs to fight back with knowledge and education that “Black Lives Matter”.

What liberty there is for all human lives in North America since the “Declaration of Independence”? What happiness there is since the “Declaration of Independence”?

The real fight for freedom was fought during immoral times, the ones who were dehumanized stood their ground to obtain equal liberty, not for themselves, but for all human life that shares the one mother earth we all live, not just for their present but also for the future generations, us. One humanity, because in the union of diversity, equality reigns.