Independence for All

Many years ago, African Americans were treated as if they were not people, but were worthless pieces of the United States government. While everyone else celebrated their freedom on the Fourth of July, they sat in despair waiting for their own freedom holiday to arise. Frederick Douglass believed that the United States’ so called “Independence Day” was only for whites. He informs his crowd of how African Americans cannot celebrate this holiday since they have not yet gotten the independence they deserved, unlike the rest of America. Slaves were not free, but in captivity, always having to be submissive to their owners. 

Furthermore, the Bible preaches the fact that everyone is equal, and the supposed Christian whites are strong believers in its teachings, so it’s questionable that this part of the Bible is skipped, since clearly, African Americans did not have any rights; they worked just as much as whites, and acquired the same jobs, yet were still considered to be the inferior race. Douglass informs his audience, “..your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are, to Him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy-...” He is trying to make a point by saying how God is disappointed in America and can see how people are betraying Him. Today, the world has gotten better with allowing everyone to have independence and not only a certain race. There are still some improvements that need to be made, but the United States is well on its way to truly having an Independence Day for everyone to celebrate passionately, which is exactly what Frederick Douglas wanted.