1/13
July 4th - Independence Day, is a celebration of America’s freedom from British rule. It’s cemented by the Declaration of Independence - a piece of paper declaring the unalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit if happiness in America. #velshi
July 4th - Independence Day, is a celebration of America’s freedom from British rule. It’s cemented by the Declaration of Independence - a piece of paper declaring the unalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit if happiness in America. #velshi
2/13
That document hides a stark reality that in the year it was written, fully one-fifth of the American population was in bondage. The newly independent "free" nation still held hundreds of thousands of Black people in slavery. #velshi
That document hides a stark reality that in the year it was written, fully one-fifth of the American population was in bondage. The newly independent "free" nation still held hundreds of thousands of Black people in slavery. #velshi
3/13
Many of the Colonists who fought to remove the bonds of what they called British oppression saw no contradiction in the fact that they bought and sold human beings themselves. #velshi
Many of the Colonists who fought to remove the bonds of what they called British oppression saw no contradiction in the fact that they bought and sold human beings themselves. #velshi
4/13
Nearly 80 yrs later - while millions of African Americans were still enslaved - abolitionist Frederick Douglass gave a speech on July 5, 1852. He chose not to speak on the 4th because he refused to celebrate American freedom while slavery was the law of the land. #velshi
Nearly 80 yrs later - while millions of African Americans were still enslaved - abolitionist Frederick Douglass gave a speech on July 5, 1852. He chose not to speak on the 4th because he refused to celebrate American freedom while slavery was the law of the land. #velshi
5/13
His searing speech became known as “What to the slave is the 4th of July”. His anger highlighted the paradox of a nation. #velshi
His searing speech became known as “What to the slave is the 4th of July”. His anger highlighted the paradox of a nation. #velshi
6/13
“To him (the enslaved), your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages.” #velshi
“To him (the enslaved), your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages.” #velshi
7/13
“There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking & bloodier than the people of these United States.” Today, 169 years later, we are living another paradox in America. #velshi
“There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking & bloodier than the people of these United States.” Today, 169 years later, we are living another paradox in America. #velshi
8/13
On one hand, the nation just took a significant step in reckoning with its tortured past by making Juneteenth a federal holiday. Commemorating the day when some of the millions of enslaved black people learned of their freedom. #velshi
On one hand, the nation just took a significant step in reckoning with its tortured past by making Juneteenth a federal holiday. Commemorating the day when some of the millions of enslaved black people learned of their freedom. #velshi
9/13
On the other hand, Republican states are fighting to ban schools from teaching aspects of this very history, including some of the speeches by Frederick Douglass. Here’s something else you probably didn’t learn in school:
On the other hand, Republican states are fighting to ban schools from teaching aspects of this very history, including some of the speeches by Frederick Douglass. Here’s something else you probably didn’t learn in school:
10/13
In 1776, Thomas Jefferson - himself an enslaver throughout his life - actually wrote a passage in an early version of the Declaration of Independence that condemned slavery as one of the many evils conjured up by the British King. #velshi
In 1776, Thomas Jefferson - himself an enslaver throughout his life - actually wrote a passage in an early version of the Declaration of Independence that condemned slavery as one of the many evils conjured up by the British King. #velshi
11/13
Jefferson wrote, “He has waged cruel war against human nature itself, violating its most sacred rights of life & liberty in the persons of a distant people who never offended him, captivating & carrying them into slavery in another hemisphere.” #velshi
Jefferson wrote, “He has waged cruel war against human nature itself, violating its most sacred rights of life & liberty in the persons of a distant people who never offended him, captivating & carrying them into slavery in another hemisphere.” #velshi
12/13
Imagine if those words became the moral mission of America: the difference it would have made. But that passage never saw the light of day. It was taken out after debate by the Continental Congress. #velshi
Imagine if those words became the moral mission of America: the difference it would have made. But that passage never saw the light of day. It was taken out after debate by the Continental Congress. #velshi
13/13
Instead, its omission forged centuries of struggle over basic human & civil rights - the effects of which are still felt today. This 4th of July let’s remember what Fredrick Douglass was fighting for. And let’s teach our kids about it. Because if we don’t, who will? #velshi
Instead, its omission forged centuries of struggle over basic human & civil rights - the effects of which are still felt today. This 4th of July let’s remember what Fredrick Douglass was fighting for. And let’s teach our kids about it. Because if we don’t, who will? #velshi
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