What does July 4th 1776 mean to Black People?

Question

Africans were still enslaved in this country when it was "liberated" from Great Britain. .and erruuhh..our ancestors weren't even considered half of a human being let alone an AMERICAN!! So tell me black people ...why do we celebrate it ?

RedNeckLady: Clearly this question is not to you. It's an honest question if offends you...click the "back" button on your browser!

Once again...this is a question for people who wish to answer the question at hand. and yes I am free to not celebrate it...just a question don't get paranoid lol

I'm spreading hate because i'm asking aquestion of my african american peers? again if this question offends you ...stop being greedy for the two little points for answering a question and move to thenext one....and to the NATIVE American...My grandmother is Cherokee so yes I have hear of the Trail of Tears and many other storys having to do with the desolation of our people...

Chris W: "You Black People" ...lol wow and I'm the Racist.

Oh God! Are there any Blacks on yahoo?!?! lol

You all have the right not to like my question, I said nothing racist..nor did I mean to say there we weren't a free people as of now..I'm an avid reader is history it's self this is just one of my lingering questions!! ....As for slavery..oh yes indentured servatude stilil goes on today in many countries! I know this...but that was not my question!!! and oh yea I get over it when I chose to!

TEX: THANKS FOR YOUR IGNORANT INSIGHT! YOU JUST GAVE PROOF THAT THIS QUESTION STILL NEEDS TO BE ASKED! GOD HELP YOU!

Answer 1

It's obvious that other races on here and even some black people statements are very blinded and ignorant therefore they held by Satan's chains and bondage of the mind. These people on here didn't read your question for what it was worth and define it as negative which shows incompetence on their part. Independence means freedom. Freedom of mind,heart,soul and spirit is not liberated for as Afro-Americans in the states and other countries. Other races and some blacks refuse to announce to world that racism still exist which is slavery of the mind against blacks. Whites are against interracial dating and marriages. Whites are against blacks coming to their communities and putting down heritages that hold true to bondage of slavery verses blacks. We celebrate what the whites forced upon us while our ancestors had been cooking,cleaning,nursing there white brats and picking in the fields for the white people. White racist rednecks continue to spread hate for blacks in the south on a daily basis. We as Afro-Americans are not free to go everywhere in states. Why should blacks go back to Africa when we were forced to be here?! Why should we go back there when we built this country?! White people who attack this question are in denial and are closet bigots who are against equality for blacks. I have NO respect for uneducated whites and some who come on here when the question was not posted towards them. She said Black People! Idiots!

Answer 2

I think we celebrate it cause we are still Americans, even if we didn't gain our independent on July 4, 1776. How can anyone tell some one else to go back anywhere. Unlike slavery times we have a choice on where we go, live and do. The only boat we are getting on is a Cruise boat.

Answer 3

I really think that Independence day is a celebration for the country, not any specific person or group of people. I think most "holidays" are a celebration of the act ( for days like the 4th, memorial, labor, e.t.c.) or the specific person (Washington, Lincoln, MLK, e.t.c.). For this day, i believe that it is the celebration of a young nation breaking free from the tyrannical actions of a monarchy that was not willing to let go. i feel that all Americans should celebrate this day, for, if those brave souls did not take that irreversible step, we may not be having this discussion today. Many people don't realize the impact of the American Revolution on the rest of the world. Who knows what this land would be like now. Besides, if not for that step, there would have been no Lincoln, no Harriet Tubman, no George Washington Carver, no one to stand up for the rights of the black American, no one to show that anything can be accomplished by anyone. Provided they have the freedom to do it. That is why I think that all Americans should celebrate this glorious day in our history. It set the precedent for uncommon acts of bravery and democracy.
EDIT: I think that a later post quoting Douglass is an excellent answer. I know that the question was not intended to be answered by whites, but i felt that an intellegent answer is still an intellegent answer. I do go back to stating that if it were not for the revolution, the honorable Mr. Douglass would not have had the oppourtunity to make his well phrased statement. England itself had abolished slavery within it's own borders. They did not apply this law to any of it's colonies. I feel that slavery, in itself, is one of the oldest and more complicated issues. It has been used by every society on the planet. Does this make it excusable? Hell no! Does this make it tolerable? Double that hell no! Does it still exist today? Yes, in smaller countries throughout the world, the wearker working classes are forced to work for the more powerful.(Groups are divided into socioeconomic classes. Anyone who says otherwise is either blind or a fool. I do not care about where a person is from, but i am as gulity as the next person of putting people into socioeco groups. Anyone who claims that they don't is a liar!) Can we compare low wages to slavery? No. People that are being paid for their work have the option to leave and try to find another job. That job may be better or worse, but they do have the option. A slave never had that option. When my family came to this country in the early 1900's, many of them, on both sides, had never encountered a black person. When they finally did, it seemed that they split in thier experiences. I had one grandmother who was extremely racist for no reason. It was just what her parents had taught her. Good thing that it was nixed by my grandfather who had nothing against anyone unless they hurt his family directly. I would like to think people would be a little more open minded with the present. The old saying about knowing your history or you will be doomed to repeat it still applies... If we don't learn from the mistakes, I know they will be repeated. Again, I know that if it had not been for the revolution, many of us would not be here today. i know for a fact that I would not be...

Answer 4

I do agree we need to get off the black and white issue. You wernt here in 1776 and neither was I. It's not always the best country in the world but it is our country now and damn it sometimes I'm even proud that I live here. I don't think it is fair to assume that all black people in the united states are ancestors of slaves, it has been 200 years.

But really now don't yo uthink yo ushould save the bit ching and feel for the native american people? How do you think they feel today?

Answer 5

I was looking for facts about how many slaves lived in US in 1776. It disappoints and is reasonable that most responses are so hate filled or so misinformed. African Americans haven't too much to celebrate if we honestly dissect our treatment now as is the past. However, to deny a person of any color their right to accept or adopt a tradition goes against the spirit and philosophy that fuels our (African Americans) rancor about our history and demand for equality. We will evolve when we recognize the flaws in the historical accounts (or out and out lies) but move on to allow for differences in opinion. Folks we live here now. Traditions that don't honor us can be ignored and understood for their hypocrisy ....or we can use the occasion to love, laugh and celebrate our friends and family.

Answer 6

Because you are free here, it is NOW the most free country there is. Because there is prosperity, opportunity, and acceptance of ALL people here. Because duh! you have so many rights here and privledges! Come on! Move away if you are not satisfied with America! Live in the past in your own head, why dampen anothers July 4th?

You aren't celebrating the DAY in 1776, you are celebrating how great America is. or at least good Americans are.

Answer 7

And once again, someone opts for resentment. I'm sure you've read of Crispus Attucks. And the many black men who fought for this country. Does it give you strength, to remain disconnected with an adopted heritage? Maybe you should talk to the many Asians, and Latins that have used their military connection to the Declaration of Independence to move on with their personal life, and to gain a sense of belonging to the future of this nation. Oh, did I mention Gen Colin Powell? Or, how about Gen. Brooks? He was the black Commander of my army division over thirty years ago. By the way, he was a black commander, and I was a white enlisted man in a regiment that historically was known as Buffalo soldiers. Have you heard of them? It's the fourth of July, do you feel left out? By black veterans?

Answer 8

What The 4 Really Means To Me Is A Day Off Work Thats Is Cause In The Constitution We Were Still Enslaved

Answer 9

1776 -In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Society of Friends, also known as the Quakers, forbids its members from holding slaves.

1776-Delaware prohibits the importation of African slaves.

Before you speak on a subject and spread hatred, get the facts straight. Africans were sold to SOME Americans by Africans. Stop being a racist.

Answer 10

America is your country now. If Thomas Jefferson had his way the slaves would have been freed, but the Southern States needed the slaves for their economy.

Don't think of yourself as an ex-slave; be like Whoopee Goldberg and think of yourself as an American (not an Afro-American). Yes, the American Blacks had a hard road in the States. But would you rather live in Sudan and be hunted by lighter skinned Muslims, or be starving in the desert, or overcome by malaria and AIDS, which are devastating the African population.

Africa is torn apart by unrest, civil war, and just common butchery. A Civil War had to be fought to win your freedom, and it has been a struggle for many years. But, in the 1960s white people were willing to die for your Civil Rights. Brown vs. The Board of Education was the principle decision that declared the concept of "Separate but Equal" is wrong. And we changed the primary law of the land, The Constitution TWICE; to grant blacks freedom and insure that their Civil Rights were honored.

"Amendment XV
Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude."

What was done to black people was wrong, their are still injustices, but the United States is the country that is most known for working to make everyone free, especially with blacks. We lead the way, and made Europe accept blacks.

So stop living in the past. You weren't a slave, and I didn't try to enslave you. "America, love it or leave it." And be glad that you were not born in Africa where you would probably be poor, sick, at war, or even dead.

Answer 11

Because this is YOUR country too! Thank God things have changed since 1776, and you ARE considered a full human with all the rights anyone else in this country enjoys.