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Freedom from Fear: Achieving Racial and Economic Equality in America
As we celebrate of the 4th of July, let us reflect on the phrase “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness” enshrined in the Declaration of Independence — the seminal document defining who we are as a nation. A document written by a slaveholder and signed predominantly by slaveholders. In fact, 41 out of 56 — almost 75% — of the signers owned slaves, unsurprising given that slavery was legal in all 13 of the new states in 1776 (USA Today 2019, Politifact 2019). This contradiction continued beyond the founding with 12 Presidents who held slaves, more than a quarter of all U.S. Presidents. The most slaves were owned by the author of the Declaration of Independence himself, Thomas Jefferson, who owned over 600+ throughout his lifetime. (The History Channel 2017)
Paradoxically, the Declaration Independence also asserts that “all men are created equal.” With the the backdrop of nation-wide protests against racially charged police violence in mind, what does this phrase mean to us as Americans today? How can we celebrate the values upon which this nation was founded upon when so many have been denied these basic liberties?
There is no greater manifestation of the contradictions between our national ideals and our national realities than in the racial wealth gap.
