Coard 070315

The Confederate flag, originally adopted in 1861, symbolizes racist oppression as evidenced by southern slavery. The United States flag, originally adopted in 1777, symbolizes racist oppression as evidenced by American slavery. In fact, one third of the 56 Founding Fathers who signed the Declaration of Independence enslaved Blacks. Furthermore, Thomas Jefferson, who drafted that document, which was ratified on July 4, 1776, still held 175 Black men, women and children in bondage on that same date and increased that number to 267 by 1822.

Such racist duplicity is what compelled Frederick Douglass in 1852 to give a speech entitled “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro.” In that unmasking and explosive elocution, he thundered: “What, to the American slave, is your Fourth of July? I answer, a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham, your boasted liberty, an unholy license, your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; … your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery … fraud, deception …, and hypocrisy — a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of the United States ...”

Michael Coard, Esquire, can be followed on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. His “Radio Courtroom” show can be heard on WURD900AM.

(0) comments

Welcome to the discussion.

Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.