Here’s Why I Choose To Celebrate July 4th As A Day Of Revolutionary Black Joy

Over 150 years ago, Frederick Douglass delivered a scathing oration asking “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” continuing his remarks with, “This Fourth of July is yours, not mine, You may rejoice, I must mourn.”

Not to disagree with one of the preeminent abolitionists and civil rights forefathers, but on July Fourth, I am inclined to rejoice. I am here, I am the embodiment of Black Girl Magic, and I have purposefully made the choice to reclaim this day as mine, and not just theirs. Kanye West was wrong—slavery was not a choice, but I believe freedom can be.

One of the definitions for freedom in the Oxford Dictionary is “the power of self-determination attributed to the will.” This is reminiscent of the second day of Kwanzaa’s principle of the Nguzo Saba: Kujichagulia (Self-Determination), “to define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves.”

I recently attended the Cowboy Carter tour, which has been emblematic of this concept. American flag symbolism and imagery were omnipresent in Beyoncé’s latest album and concert visuals. In addition, at one point during the set, she starts off singing our national anthem, the “Star-Spangled Banner” before transitioning into “Freedom” from her Lemonade album featuring Kendrick Lamar. This shift encapsulated the sentiment from the oft-quoted James Baldwin quote, “I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.”

For instance, the other morning I was at a local coffee shop and entered into a lively debate around whether or not Black people should even be celebrating the Fourth of July anymore since we now have Juneteenth as an official federal holiday. One of the baristas chimed in with “If anyone should celebrate Independence Day the most, it should be us because we literally built this country. This country wouldn’t be here without our backs. So let’s go be patriotic.”

 Can you be a patriot and still want more? Like Beyoncé and Lamar, I too believe I am searching for freedom in a country which does not feel like it’s rooting for me. But I haven’t given up on this country and neither should you. In acknowledging who I am and what I stand for, I want to join the fight to make this country a better place.

My version of patriotism might look different than yours, but this Fourth of July I’ll be blasting the Hamilton soundtrack mixed in with Cowboy Carter. Because every day I revel in the chance to “Look around at how lucky we are to be alive right now,” (After all, as I commonly joked when people asked if I would be getting an epidural during childbirth, my ancestors were not popping babies out in between picking bales of cotton for me not to have an epidural).

Right now, we are at an inflection point, and if I choose to abandon celebrating a day off because some people have said it’s anti-Black, I would not be being true to myself. My predecessors did not fight and sacrifice for what we’ve gained for me to stand by and not enjoy my life. While it might seem like one step forward and two steps back, small wins like Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the Democratic primary for New York City give me hope that we can band together to fight for better conditions for the working class, so we can truly be joyous in the day to day. 

So yes, I will proudly wear my red, white and blue today because I am both Black and an American. I am happy to celebrate our country’s complicated history because I am hopeful for a better future for myself and future generations. It might not be revolutionary, but I am taking this day off and using it as a day full of Black joy for myself.