Segregation has been an unfortunate yet prevalent part of American History. Describing America as a free country, millions of Americans celebrate the Fourth of July as the anniversary of their succession from controlling forces. However, for many African American citizens, this holiday represents the isolation between races. The following excerpts dive further into the depths of what this celebration of freedom really means for specific groups of people.

In the year 1852, Fredrick Douglass delivered the speech “What to the slave is the fourth of July.” Although the speech starts off with praise of the Founding Fathers for what they did for this country, the tone slowly changes to an explanations of how African American citizens in the United States have not been included when it comes to the freedoms celebrated on this anniversary. Despite the inferred meaning of the Independence, Douglass claims “The Fourth of July is yours, not mine,” due to the unjust nature of this holiday. As this passage continues, Douglas uses parallels between the revolutionary way and prejudiced of his time period to further prove the hypocrisy present in this country. In many pieces of literature, such as those below, we see comparable ideas presented about the Fourth of July, that closely relate to the concepts offered by Fredrick Douglas.

In the short journey entry, “The Fourth of July and Black Americans in the Nineteenth Century: Northern Leadership Opinion Within the Context of the Black Experience,” Sweet, explores the irony and hypocrisy present in our national celebration on the Independence Day. With lots of information on the occurrences and unfortunate traditions present during the celebration of our supposedly free country, the reader quickly understands that the point of this article is to exploit the unfair and unreasonable conditions African Americans were subjected to while still and celebrating their independence. As stated by Sweet, the irony of this so called Independence Day “was made clear when blacks held integrated observances of the day while whites usually insisted on segregated festivities,” while supposedly celebrating their freedom, African American citizens were segregated and isolated from the general population (Sweet, 256). Continuing to go in depth with these ideas, Sweet remarks on the fact that “most white celebrations outlawed black participation if not black presence” and how this segregation on a nation holiday was further proof that although African Americans were living in a country celebrating a holiday named the Independence Day, these people were not actually free (262).  In close of his persuasive article, Sweet makes sure to present the oversight that throughout the hundreds of years, America has been celebrating the anniversary of its freedom, for some, the irony and hypocrisy have been too great for full appreciation of the holiday. Without the equality they deserved on America’s most patriotic holiday, and every other day of the year African Americans would be subjected to unfair hypocrisy at the hands of the United States.

Continuing with a similar theme, “The New Patriotism” by Edgar Guest, also explores the ideals of the Fourth and July and what the true concept behind them represents. Stating that Independence day should be more than a singular day a year, “We must teach men the worth of the best land on earth, we must live for her glory and work for her fame,” Guest (1922) tries to explain to his readers why the inclusions of celebration in our country is what would hold the country together (38). Principles such as this help to explain the importance of inclusion and forming connection between all races. In contrast to Lenard Sweet’s Journal entry, Guest investigates how unity would positively affect our country and certain essences that will elevated patriotism as a whole.

Within these three examples of literature, a promotion of the same argument which is the concept that the Independence Day contains irony and is rather hypocritical is present. The combination of these three articles enforces the concepts of inequalities found in America. Even though we may celebrate the fact we are a free nation, many people tend to ignore the unjust circumstances that African Americans in our country have faced. This further enforces my perspective that many of our own citizens are naive to the occurrences surrounding them. It is important to read background information before forming opinions on literature such as this so that one does not create an interpretation based on uneducated thoughts. In close, many different views can be formed based on the same historical or cultural readings, so knowing all sides of the story will allow the reader to make a cultured response.
