As the United States celebrated its 235th birthday on Monday I immersed myself in all the traditional activities: fireworks, grilling, the History Channel, watching the movie “Independence Day” and my own personal tradition, reading a book on a great American to remind me of our nations character and strength. This year, I re-read Frederick Douglass’ “My Bondage, My Freedom.” The first time I read the book I was eight years old and to my young mind, the book represented evil in its worse form: the brutalities of slavery, the moral void that plagued society. I can still remember the fear that struck through my young heart when I realized I was the same race as Douglass and only by the grace of God I was blessed to live and die (hopefully) free.
Yet, something stronger than fear grasped me when I read his book. I also remember a strong sense of pride. I had pride not because Douglass was “mixed like me” but because with everything Douglass experienced—born a slave, losing his mother, starvation, racism-- he still accomplished such amazing things and changed the course of history for our Nation and the rest of the world. There are very few people with a life-story that makes Constitutional Conservatives think, “Wow, yea, they definitely have a reason to just throw in the towel and give up”---Douglass had one of those stories. No one would blame Douglass, for example, if he never tried to run away, or if he escaped to Canada and was never heard from again—but he didn’t. He sacrificed his freedom to not only share his story, but to end slavery and force America to look evil right in the face instead of turning its back on our founding principles.
Between reading Douglass I also read articles and blogs about Independence Day. Sadly, there were too many articles discussing why the holiday is irrelevant to most minorities, especially black Americans. To my readers, this is nothing new; we’re use to this idiotic idea that black people are supposed to be separate from everything and anything that celebrates America’s history, our exceptionalism as a nation, or freedom. Usually when I find myself in these situations it always ends the same way: with America the hypocrite, blacks the victims, and nothing resolved.
I’ve never looked at our history or myself for that matter, as a victim. Regardless of which label you choose; as a woman, a minority, or any other category that would allow me to use the victim status. Instead, I give credence to the philosophy that “what does not kill you only makes you stronger.” As a spiritual person, I believe in God and I believe things happen for a reason. As a person that has been through hell and back, I can tell you that my worst experiences have built my character, helped define my morality, and ensured that “the buck stops with me.” Case and point: Growing up without a father has shown me how damaging it is for an individual, a family, and a community to live and thrive without a father in the home. I’ve seen the epidemic of fatherlessness convince women that men are an optional accessory to raising a child—especially if the State will help you out; I’ve seen men completely lose their identity and standing as men, and I’ve seen men leave their children with no ounce of shame from their friends, their families, or themselves. Because I know how damaging it is to grow up without a father, I refuse to bring another generation of children into the world without one—like I said, “the buck stops here.”
So, you may be asking, “What does this have to do with the role of Black people in America?” EVERYTHING! Just as a person needs adversity to build character, a nation needs adversity to build its own character, morality, and soul. Let’s face it, what makes America unique is our shared ancestry with those that, for the most part, got the raw end of the deal and the short-end of the stick out of life and came to America for a better life. If Americans were the product of people that never suffered, never faced adversity, and never knew the value of hard work, would we be the greatest, wealthiest, most free nation on the face of the earth (knock on wood)? Of course not!
Black people are the soul of America. Not because we were victims of humanity's worst evil, and not just because of our music (they call it soul music for a reason) but because our adversity, struggle, and empowerment reminds all people how fragile freedom is, the horrible consequences of man controlling man, the diligence we all must have defending freedom and liberty for future generations, and most importantly—that attacks on individual freedom will not be tolerated because it stops with us!
Webster defines the soul as the “immaterial essence, animating principle, or actuating cause of an individual life; the quality that arouses emotion and sentiment; a spiritual or moral force.” Black Americans are the soul of America because we are the descendants of a people that turned in-action into action; stood on principle even in the face of danger; and had—and this continues to this day—an unremitting faith in a spiritual, moral force. (Just look at our history from Lemuel Haynes to Martin Luther King).
Black Americans are the descendants of men and women that had nothing—and wanted nothing, but freedom. Robert Elliott, for example, was a slave, taught himself to read (even at the risk of death) and then became a member of Congress. With freedom our ancestors went from property to business owners; from chattel to political leader; from victimized to victors—but never victims!
In recent years though, we have lost this. We didn’t start it, but we’ve allowed it to grow like a cancer latched tightly to our soul. (It started under the Democratic Party. Woodrow Wilson, along with the progressive movement, literally erased our black founders from history, kicked us out of the federal government (except one, of course), and re-segregated the military). Instead of embracing our role as the “Knights Templar of freedom”, we’ve allowed our role to be manipulated by liberals. Instead of embracing our role as the “Neighborhood Watch” of government control, too many of us have left our post to cash in on our perceived victim status.
Black Americans are the soul of America, not victims. We are the people that have been through hell and back and still we rise! We don’t have the luxury to sit back and complain—what would our ancestors think? Furthermore—and this needs to be said—it is insulting to say we don’t have a place at the Independence Day table because of our history as slaves. Our ancestors fought for the ideals of freedom in the American Revolution and every single battle the United States has ever engaged in.
When we weren’t at war, we were the Paul Reveres of liberty—writing books, publishing newspapers, meeting with Presidents, marching, protesting, debating—forcing America to take a stand. When the Jews needed help in WWII, blacks didn’t play the victim card, they didn’t say it wasn’t their fight, and they didn’t say, “Well we have our own problems here.” They enlisted, they fought, and then they came back home and fought some more! To say we aren’t a part of America’s founding is a slap in the face to Americans, but especially to those men and women that risked their lives so maybe, just maybe, we could be born free.
The role of Black people in America is to be the “Great Communicator” of the blessings of Liberty. No other group in America can speak on the preciousness of freedom and the need to always be vigilant to defend it than black Americans. (If you don’t agree, just listen to the cries from the gay community, women, Muslims, or illegal immigrants who fight to prove their “struggle” is comparable to the history of blacks in America and can’t wait to have their “civil rights” violated as they race to cash in on the liberal victim prize). Our story is unique. We therefore have an obligation—a duty—to defend liberty. The role of Black people in America is to remind our nation how truly fragile our liberties are and ensure our nation is living up to its moral contract with God.
It is time for Black people to get back to our post. It is time we speak out loud, call out immoral behavior (even if that behavior is right next door or in our own families). It is time we did some soul-searching of our own. America is on a moral decline because its preservers of morality—of liberty—have allowed the liberal agenda to convince far too many of us that we are a separate section of American history, that we are nothing more than an asterisk placed next to the line “All men are created equal.”
Enough is enough. If we don’t speak out on liberty and freedom, if we don’t educate the masses on the consequences of more and more government control in our lives, then America will eventually turn its back on these principles altogether. Why? Not because black people understand freedom better than white people, but because a nation is just like a person. If a person never experiences heartache they can never truly embrace love. If you’ve never had to work for anything you will never appreciate what you have. This, to me, is God’s role for blacks in America. He allowed slavery to happen so America, like the individual, would truly appreciate how precious freedom and liberty are.
Our role today is to ensure every man, woman, and child appreciates the blessings bestowed upon us from God. It is time to get to work, people. If we don’t get back to our role as the moral conscience of America, the people that hold all Americans accountable to our ideals of liberty and freedom, who will? The buck won’t stop with government—it will only stop with us. Without black America, freedom becomes a political talking point, a slogan used to sell fireworks, and a soulless endeavor until it ultimately becomes nothing. If black America continues to let the left define our role in America, freedom will become out of sight, out of mind—and that is exactly what the left wants. So, it is time to reclaim our history and take back our role as the soul of America. Because as we all know, if you don’t have soul, you have nothing.
