The False Reality of American Freedom is a Farce

I contemplate writing this article because as a member of staff for a an institution that stands on the cloud between political divisiveness in an attempt to avoid offending anyone its always the same group that absorbs the offense. Someone ALWAYS absorbs the offense in situations where one claims they’re trying not to and it’s always the group of people that are least represented in the room. I avoid July 4th celebrations because I know that I’ll be offended from references to the signing of the Constitution, which declared Blacks as 2/3rd human and validated the use of slavery as punishment while claiming ‘independence’ to references of founding fathers, who enslaved my ancestors while claiming ‘freedom’. Early Americans, a group that enslaved groups weren’t apart of, claimed to pave the way for a free and independent country while denying those rights to their largest minority group  based solely on race in favor of corporate interest over human life. Due to the fact that this trend in favor of corporate interest over human life is still widely an accepted narrative in this country July 4th is a complete farce, a ludicrously improbable situation. It’s ludicrous that we celebrate the independence of a country that was already independently governed by Native Americans prior to colonists arrival .

Why are we as oppressed minorities celebrating colonists’ independence? Why are we as descendants of slaves celebrating colonists’ independence? Once colonists declared their independence on July 4, 1776 blacks were traded and dehumanized within race based chattel slavery for nearly a century thereafter and oppressed under Jim Crow and continued to be disenfranchised by the modern day slave system today. I cringe when I witness July 4th memorabilia because its a hypocrisy that pushes a false reality.

We aren’t free to pursue higher education

We aren’t free to acquire housing in our area of choice

We aren’t free to establish businesses

We aren’t free to walk home from the store at night

We aren’t free to establish and follow our own party leaders

We aren’t free to migrate into and around the country

We aren’t free

We aren’t free

We aren’t free

Any attempt to establish these and other freedoms have been met by our government with heavy military force but we choose to celebrate the freedom of those (whites) who can benefit from American privileges at the expense of us all. It’s a known fact that America has the largest ratio of prisoners than any other developed country, with over 2.5 million incarcerated individuals sitting in cages across the country, America enslaves more of its own citizens than any other country. The idea of American freedom isn’t enough for those who have failed to see that idea reach execution.

I’m not against any event which recognizes July 4th as a historical day and this event’s theme, “Freedom to Worship’ celebrates that its beautiful that we live in a country that gives us the freedom to be Christians however the country was built on that right and freedom of religion. We do an injustice when we ignore other facts and Muslims aren’t free to be Muslim and even moreso are even criminalized for that religious choice to practice their religion. These type of events dangerously ignore the oppression of others by glorifying certain freedoms and that’s that I want to draw attention to. I’m disturbed by the fact that Independence Day exacerbates a false reality of freedom, especially with the current events in this country, the fact we’re celebrating Freedom is such a farce

Nothing in this country is free, it’s only those who are unconcerned with the social and financial cost of oppression, an elite 1%, who have true free-dom. I may not be able to speak up or kneel down but because I can write …for now, I will and I will continue to publish the fact that We are not Free.

At this point it’s our responsibility to free our selves which begins with the freeing of our minds from the oppressive ideologies that we’re forced to consume as a second class in this society. Below I’ve included a track by Jet Smiff ft. myself and Alex about the pursuit of freedom through the eyes of three young black Detroit born artists.