Under the baobab: July 4 a time to celebrate those who fought for, built our country

Happy Fourth of July.

We have more to celebrate than fireworks, parades, hot dogs and barbecue. We are celebrating our country’s birth and the planting of the seed of democracy. It hasn’t always been our country. In 1776 at the Declaration of Independence and structuring of the Constitution “We the people” did not include some of my ancestors. They were not viewed as citizens or even people by the dominant society. But that was not the end of the story. They didn’t give up on America. During the Civil War over 200,000 people of African descent, including my great-great grandfather, joined the Union forces to fight for freedom.

I celebrate them and the others who put their lives on the line to begin to build a country free of tyranny, slavery and oppression. I celebrate all those G.I.’s in later generations who went abroad to help free others living in tyranny.

I celebrate the courageous struggle of generations of immigrants, ordinary people, who ventured to these shores dreaming of a land where freedom and opportunity was the rule, not the exception. Their spiritual progeny are parked on our borders still, asking for a chance to live their dreams.

I celebrate the original peoples of this land who continue to fight for their rights and culture, rewriting the plan for their elimination.

I celebrate the women who marched and the men who walked with them, so that all could benefit from citizenship irrespective of gender.

I celebrate the union organizers who committed their time and sometimes gave their lives to ensure that workers received fair wages and the dignity to enjoy them.

I celebrate Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Paul Robeson, Odetta, Oscar Brown Jr., Willie Dixon and all the other artists who inspired us to believe that “this land is your land, this land is my land.”

I celebrate the young and the old who work the polls and streets and the telephones to ensure that everyone has a vote and that those votes will count and mean something.

I celebrate the social workers, community organizers, teachers, clergy, and all those who have committed to building a society where justice is more important than profit and every man, woman and child has access to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Sisters and brothers, I celebrate you and I love you. Particularly, in these troubled times let us embrace and commemorate each other and our common struggle to maintain and build democracy.

After the first debate some Democrats are asking President Biden to step aside as the party’s presidential candidate. Based on his “performance” they are questioning his capability to lead the country. Shame on them. Who do they think has been leading the country for the last three and half years? President Biden and his team have led us back from the edge of disasters like COVID and international isolation. This administration has put programs into place to reduce inflation and avoid recession. Unemployment is at its lowest in decades. The infrastructure bill has provided jobs and a needed face lift to our sagging foundation.

I am in the same age cohort as President Biden and candidate Trump. Neither of us can run a 60-minute 10K, but that is not in the required job description. Rather as elders we bring to the table a connection to our history, identity and common experience. The president should have a commitment to our country’s common good, a cohesive strategy to achieve it, and gather around the best team to do the job. America is not a one-man show, never has been, nor ever should be. Tending to democracy is not tuning in to watch a wrestling match. Our democracy is in the hands of the people, all the people.