Today on Sojourner Truth:
As the nation prepares to mark the July 4th holiday - usually with picnics, fireworks, spending time with friends and family and looking forward to a long holiday weekend - today we look into the deeper meaning of the July 4th holiday and its significance. From the words of Frederick Douglass to the poems of Langston Hughes, we capture a vastly different reflection of July 4th from the one generally promoted. Frederick Douglass asked, What is July 4th to me? Langston Hughes asked: What is America to me?
The same questions are likely to be asked by those stuck in concentration camp facilities at the U.S. border deprived of even the most basic needs, to those who have to worry about walking down the street, much less driving a vehicle while Black or Brown; to Indigenous peoples whose youth have the highest rate of suicides than any other and whose communities are the most impoverished in the U.S.; to trans women, particularly those who are Black, 11 of whom were murdered this year; to poor white people in Appalachia and around the country who may not yet realize that their self-interests lie with those considered the other, not the one percent.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump is making this years July 4th all about himself, ignoring long standing tradition and organizing what basically will be a Trump rally incorporating a military parade.
But is Trump in his self-absorption reflecting a truth about the United States, one that is difficult to face? And, was 1776 a true revolution? If so, for whom? If it wasn't for some, could it truly be one for all?
Our guest is Dr. Gerald Horne.
