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INDEPENDENCE SUNDAY
(Honoring Those Who Helped Gain Our Independence)

CULTURAL RESOURCES

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Ralph Wheeler, Guest Cultural Resource Commentator
Long time civil rights activist, Oakland, CA

Lection - Hebrews 11:32-40; 12:1

I. Introduction

Throughout human history states, cities, tribes and other entities have set aside special days to honor their founders and to celebrate and commemorate their beginnings, culture and history. In some societies, these days are designated civic or national holidays and, in others, they are considered sacred days. Independence Day (July 4^th) in the United States of America is a national holiday that was established by the federal legislature and President to celebrate our country’s birthday.

Annually, on the Fourth of July, Americans of every age, background, gender, and race gather in civic centers, parks, stadiums, backyards, and family rooms to celebrate the Nation’s birth. Usually, the day is filled with food, drink, fireworks, music, parades, and sports. The backdrop for these celebrations is steeped in history, colored by pride and filled with a spirit of  patriotism and independence (Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon’s 2009 Independence Day Cultural Resources unit includes an exhaustive discussion of the etymology of the word “Independence” and other related terms).¹

Although these celebrations and commemorations usually focus almost entirely on only the positive aspects and traits of highlighted national leaders and the stated occasion, real opportunities also exist to examine the uncelebrated warts of the nation’s birth and national culture. Viewing the nation through the latter lens may often lead to discoveries of change, growth, greatness, resilience, and hope that few even knew existed. Real history includes both beauty and ugliness. What a nation does with its ugliness sometime will be more determinative of its national character and civic health than will all of its other major accomplishments.

To illustrate the importance of this period of recognition, celebration, commemoration and self-reflection, today’s Lection scripture focuses our attention on a letter written to a community of Christians (Jews and non-Jews) who were admonished to remember the faith of the early believers-- their contributions and sacrifices, and the purpose of their service. Their stories point to a catalogue of failures and successes, strengths and weaknesses, sufferings and triumphs, rewards and punishments, and states of bondage and freedom.

While Independence Day in the United States is basically celebrated as a civic holiday, its placement on the African American Lectionary’s liturgical calendar provides the Black Church with an opportunity to help African American Christians recall, celebrate and draw strength from the contributions that their ancestors have made to the development, life and culture of this nation. It also provides the Black Church with an opportunity to examine the seeming inherent contradiction in the nation’s founders’ decision to declare its independence by relying upon lofty arguments regarding the natural rights of man, even though each of the nation’s original colonies was mired in the ugly practice of African slavery.

II. Historical Background and Documents

(a) Birth of a Nation

Nations, similar to humans, do not always have easy or perfect births. Frequently, there are complications. At times, they are even aborted before true nationhood and independence are achieved. Even when they are able to survive the treacherous aspects of the birth canal or they miraculously arise from the ashes of another civilization’s demise, they do not always emerge unscathed. Nations, similar to humans, are sometime born of mixed pedigree and are forced to spend years overcoming their challenges that began at their birth.

The Thirteen Original Colonies and the American nation they birthed in 1776 were not any different. For many of its inhabitants, America’s “spacious skies,” “amber waves of grain,” “purple mountain majesties” and “fruited plain” have not been always “beautiful.” ² On their way to nationhood, the Thirteen Original Colonies and the United States experienced the birthing pains of “indentured servantry, Indian wars, slavery, and a revolutionary war with their motherland.” The scars from these experiences had lingering complications—even until today. Moreover, despite the lofty words contained in the new nation’s founding documents, the “blessings of liberty” did not immediately accrue to all of its inhabitants; and, many of those inhabitants were not treated, under either the founding documents or the political practices of the new nation, as if they were endowed with the unalienable rights of “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” ³

More than two hundred and thirty years after the first Fourth of July the offspring of many of those individuals are still seeking the independence that the founding fathers said was a natural right of every individual.

(b) Declaration of Independence

Most Americans probably do not recall the details or particular steps that the Thirteen Original Colonies took to sever ties with their mother country--the State of Great Britain. Contrary to popular belief, the formal act of independence did not start on July 4, 1776.

First, there were colonial protests, denial of colonial requests and failed negotiations between the colonies and the King of England and his representatives. Then, the Virginia delegation of the Continental Congress, on June 7, 1776, presented the Congress with a resolution providing for a declaration of independence by the “United Colonies,” calling for the severance of all political ties with Britain. That resolution was adopted by the Continental Congress on July 2, 1776. ⁴

The Congress, on June 10, 1776, also established a committee, which included Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston, to draft a “declaration” aligned with the resolution. The document, commonly known as “The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America,” was adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776.

According to Congressional records, John Hancock, President of the Congress, signed, on behalf of the Congress, a copy of the document on July 4, 1776. A copy of the original document, engrossed on parchment, was not signed by most members of the Continental Congress until August 2, 1776. The remaining absent members signed on a later date. ⁵

Thomas Jefferson, a slave owner himself, included a scathing charge against the King of England in his draft of the Declaration of Independence for the institution and maintenance of slavery in the Colonies. However, to appease the Southern states, that clause was removed before the Declaration was adopted. The deleted clause read as follows:

Because the above clause was deleted, the Declaration of Independence that was adopted on July 4, 1776 did not include any reference to slavery or slaves.⁷

(c)  The New Constitution

On June 11, 1776, even before the Declaration of independence was adopted, the Continental Congress, as part of the birthing process of the United States, created a committee to draft a confederacy document to provide for the new government. On July 12^th of that year, the committee sent a draft set of Articles of Confederation to the Congress. That body debated the draft articles for more than a year.

One of the primary issues being debated was “…whether taxes should be apportioned according to the gross number of inhabitants counting slaves or excluding them…”⁸ On November 15, 1777, Congress approved a draft of the Articles of Confederation and sent them to the states for ratification. The Articles became law on March 1, 1781, after they were ratified by the last state.

Even before they went into effect, the Articles were determined by many to be inadequate. As a result, the Constitutional Convention of 1787 was called. Ultimately, that body approved a draft constitution and adjoined on September 17th of the same year. The new constitution was eventually submitted to the Continental Congress, and that body submitted it to the several states for ratification. It took several years for all of the original states to ratify the document. The remaining states ratified the Constitution as they were settled and created by Congress.⁹

Despite the agitation and requests from those who abhorred slavery, the new Constitution did not free the slaves and it did not grant them any voting rights. To obtain that independence, a civil war would have to be fought. Moreover, in a nod to Southern plantation owners, Article I, Section 2, of the new Constitution provided:

With its Declaration of independence and new Constitution in place, the United States of America was a brand new nation, and her free inhabitants were ready to freely celebrate their new found independence on each succeeding Fourth of July. Yet, her vast body of enslaved citizens had no such right. They still longed for independence. And the Native American (Indians) also had little to celebrate during this period in history.

III. The National Birth Defect

(a) Before Slavery

Many Americans labor under the misunderstanding that all Africans who came to these shores prior to 1863 came as slaves, after the founding of the first English settlement, Jamestown. Historians say otherwise.

History also shows that by 1640, because of the need for human labor, many Virginians had begun to morph the African indentured servant practice into a type of perpetual bonding, requiring their African servants to remain in service for the term of their natural life. There is no credible evidence showing a similar practice for white indentured servants. Acknowledging this, Professor Franklin indicates that “… within the first generation of Virginia’s existence, African servitude was well on the way to becoming African slavery.”¹²

Certainly, this march towards slavery provided the affected Africans with a desire for independence. While there are few personal records or other evidence to confirm the thinking of the Jamestown Africans whose liberty was taken by these practices, it is reasonable to assume that, under these circumstances, they too longed for independence.

(b) All Have Sinned

Formal slavery was authorized by statute in Virginia in 1661. ¹³Although the oldest English colony, Virginia was not the only colony to soil its hands with the dehumanizing institution of slavery. All Thirteen Original Colonies and each of the Thirteen Original States authorized legalized slavery.

According to Dr. Franklin, “…slavery in Maryland was not recognized by law until 1663; it came into existence shortly after the first settlements were made in 1634.” ¹⁴The Carolinas (North and South) and Georgia followed suit and embraced slavery early during their settlement. Eventually the slave population outnumbered the white population in the Carolinas; and, it almost equaled the white population in early Georgia. ¹⁵

The Middle Colonies (New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware) also subscribed to the institution of slavery. ¹⁶ Finally, during the Colonial period of American history, all of the New England Colonies (New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut) legitimatized the institution of slavery and installed it within their borders. ¹⁷

Thus, while the white inhabitants of the Thirteen Original Colonies as early as July 4, 1776 had reason to celebrate their new country and new independence, the hope of and prayers for independence still ran deep in the hearts and minds of the African slaves -- from Georgia to Rhode Island.

In short, slavery was America’s birth defect—a nation founded on the notion that all humans had the natural right to personal liberty; yet, the benefits of that principle did not accrue to people with black skin. Slaves did not enjoy the luxuries of personal liberty nor did Native Americans. Even “free” blacks were not really free. Unlike their white counterparts, they were forced to carry papers to prove they were not slaves. And, they, unlike their white counterparts, had to worry that any slave trader had the power to snatch their freedom and thrust them into a life of perpetual bondage. These were some of the complications that resulted from the defective birth of the new slave Nation. Surely, “free” blacks also longed for independence.

IV. Other Visions of Black Independence

Historians and other researchers have uncovered mounds of evidence that clearly show blacks wanted freedom—so much so that many of them risked and lost their lives trying to escape to independence:

Other slaves sought independence by running away. One such runaway slave, Henry Bibb of Bedford, Kentucky, responding to a letter from his former master, said:

Some slaves also bargained and contracted with their owners to obtain their own freedom and the release of members of their family:

Although initially rebuffed, still other slaves served in and supported the Revolutionary Army, confederate Army, Union Army and other military efforts:

In many instances, military and war services were offered because slaves and “free” blacks hoped for independence for their governments and freedom for themselves and their fellow bondsmen. Unfortunately, their visions of personal independence would not begin to bud until the start of the American Civil War. Yet, they persisted with their hopes and dreams.

V. Notions of Independence In Word and Song

Even a cursory review of Black literature and music provides overwhelming proof that African Americans have always had strong visions of freedom and independence. From early slave songs to modern day protest songs, the quest for freedom and independence has been part of the Black psyche and Black music that every Black American, old or young, knows or has heard. Some of that music and literature depict a strong nationalistic spirit; and, some highlight the hopes, faith and pain that slavery and discrimination have engendered among Black Americans. An example of a song that depicts a Black nationalistic spirit is:

This song, by James Weldon Johnson and Rosamond Johnson, was written to honor Sergeant William Carney, a “heroic flag bearer of the 54^th Massachusetts U.S. Colored Troops…” ²³

Two songs depicting dissatisfaction with slavery and second class citizenship and evidencing a spirit of independence are:

More recently, the song “We Shall Overcome,” national hymn of the American Civil rights Movement, depicts a similar call for freedom and independence:

Black literature is also replete with a similar spirit of freedom and independence. Some examples are found in the following verses from poems by Frances E.W. Harper and George Horton:

Bury Me In A Free Land
Make me a grave where’er you will.
In a lowly plain, or on a lofty hill;
Make it among earth’s humblest graves,
But not in a land where men are slaves.²⁷

Slavery
Is it because my skin is black,
That thou should’st be so dull and slack,
And scorn to set me free?
Then let me hasten to the grave,
The only refuge for the slave,
Who mourns liberty.²⁸

Since 1776, African Americans have been of two mindsets when it comes to celebrating the Fourth of July and the principles of freedom and independence that are embodied in our Nation’s founding documents--the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. This double-mindedness exists because the Nation has seldom accorded Blacks the same rights that it has accorded members of the white race. Therefore, some Blacks have questioned whether African Americans have any reason to celebrate the Fourth of July.

Still, African Americans have volunteered and fought to maintain the independence of this Nation in every war the Nation has ever faced—even when they themselves did not have that same independence. Consequently, the Nation has never questioned the patriotism of the African American race, even when some of the Nation’s leaders, because of discrimination and racism, sought to keep Blacks out of military service.

VI. Conclusion

The following excerpts from one of Paul Laurence Dunbar’s literary pieces concerning the Fourth of July capture the dichotomy Fourth of July celebrations pose for African Americans. Mr. Dunbar, in 1903, writing in response to Black disenfranchisement and violent, unprovoked attacks on Black citizens, indicated: