When our fledgling country celebrated its independence in 1776, our delusional founding fathers failed to recognize that Indigenous and Black people were, in fact, people, inhabiting the same land that the declaration’s author either drove them from or subjugated them to. As monuments to these men are toppled across the country, we must ask ourselves what the July Fourth holiday means to all Americans. Frederick Douglass made a keynote address on July 4, 1852: “The sunlight that brought light and healing to you, has brought stripes and death to me,” he said. “This Fourth July is yours, not mine.” Instead of bringing all Americans together under the patriotic annual display of lights, the Fourth of July, as Douglass noted, “reveals the immeasurable distance between us.” This year, we are called not to celebrate but to protest the ongoing racism that our Black communities face. Locals Cedric Duncan and Tony Woodland will lead a bike ride from Halcyon Bike Shop in 12South, through the Gulch, and on to the Black Lives Matter protest in Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park, which begins at 4 p.m. For an extra dose of inspiration, the Black Lives Matter protest is organized by Teens for Equality, the small group of teen girls who brought more than 10,000 people to a demonstration downtown last month. 3 p.m. Saturday, July 4, at Halcyon Bike Shop, 2802 12th Ave. S. ERICA CICCARONE
Participate in Bike 4 Equality
