It was 1852, and the free Black people who lived in New York gathered in the wake of a July 4th celebration. There was a problem they couldn’t let rest.
Black people down South were still enslaved. And some free Blacks were at risk of reenslavement under the newly passed Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Regardless of geography, ALL OF US were still considered property.
Black northerners ignored July 4. They deliberately chose July 5 to celebrate the emancipation of over 10,000 Black people in New York instead of on the 4th when enslavement was outlawed there. Frederick Douglass delivered his famous speech, “What To The Slave Is The Fourth Of July?” on that day, too. But this wasn’t just a one-time celebration.
For a quarter of a century, our people rejected July 4 celebrations and unified every July 5 with the ultimate goal of destroying slavery everywhere. They understood one crucial fact.
We don’t need to wait for legislation or be grateful for political crumbs. We don’t even need to wait for July 5. Our freedom is in our hands. When we unify, we get one step closer to the world we want to live in. Imagine if we did the same thing today to destroy poverty, police brutality, and anti-Black education and housing systems. Together we can make it happen.