There are many words that can be used to describe me but patriotic is not one of them. Although I am an American, I feel like this country’s machine is not out for my best interest as a Black man. With that said the 4th of July means nothing to me other than new outfit, BBQ sauce stained fingers, baked beans, coleslaw, potato salad, corn stuck between my teeth, & ambrosia salad.
Although the 4th and most other things related do not resonate with me, I can certainly appreciate and respect the feelings that others have for this date & the perceived significance.
Point in case, on the 4th of July, I worked to register voters at my town’s 4th of July parade. This was my first time registering voters & I must admit it was quite fun canvassing the crowd.
While I was working the crowd, I saw so many people decked out in red, white & blue. Most were waving flags, some had on costumes & the parade procession was very energetic.
For a minute while I was walking, I was thinking that maybe I am just being an asshole with my ‘sometimy’ feelings about this country. After I left the parade I reverted back to my original thoughts as I enjoyed a McRib. Maybe I reverted back because the celebration was over, maybe I am weak minded & cannot hold my own positions in a large crowd environment, maybe I am just caught up in my own shit?????
Anyway, there were many photographable sights but since I was so busy trying to register voters, I did not have time to pullout my camera. I was kinda bummed about that but oh well.
After the parade, I made a quick trip to Detroit to visit the Taste Fest (now called the City Fest). While there, I was inundated with eye candy/many photographable moments. There was a large variety of beautiful people, hot mess, performance art, and many things in between.
Of all of the images that I captured, the two images found in this post were my favorite. They capture the piece of African within me that I love & express. Then there is the piece of me that struggles with what it means to be an American Negro.
What say you? What does the 4th mean to you?
Charlene S. Dixon / July 6, 2008
I once felt the same way that you did. I still share some of them. Yet I live in Northern Virginia, a place where so many military families live. I have become a patriot because I’ve watched soldiers leave and never return. Despite the cause of the war, they are fighting for this country. I’ve become a patriot because a man named Barack Obama asked to believe in the change that I have the power to create. I became a patriot because despite hypocrisy of this nationa’s govenment from the very beginning the foundation is there: They delcared that all men are created equal in the Declaration of Independence. We can’t give up until our society reaches that point. Still that day may never come. Yet the struggle defines and refines us.
FYI
I marched in a parade for Obama and Senate canidate Mark Warner on July 4th.
http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/blog/charlenedixon
Keith / July 7, 2008
Hey Tafari.
Been a long time my brother.
I feel you on a lot of what you’re saying, and I’m most definitely not the flag-waving type. Never have been, never will be. But one thing I’ve come to believe strongly is that those crackers with the “America Love it or Leave It” stickers on their pickup trucks do not own the rights to patriotism. Their definition of patriotism is America for White Folks.
To me? Malcolm X was a patriot. Not because he loved the country because he damned sure didn’t. But because he told this country the truth, which is what is needed to make the country better. MLK was a patriot. Frederick Douglas was a patriot. And Sojourner Truth.
And when I think of it like that, I feel like I have a right to reclaim July 4 as a right for me to celebrate and claim this place as much as any cracker who thinks he has the right to tell me whatg I have to love and when I should leave.
America is mine by blood.
Darius T. Williams / July 7, 2008
It means nothing to me…but a day off work and a chance to eat bbq.
muslimahlocs / July 7, 2008
means the same thing that it did last year…nothing. see blog post for more detail.
the pictures do reflect a sense of irony. african dance and a jembe at a 4th party…go figure.
sdg1844 / July 8, 2008
Not a hell of alot. Period. Love the images you selected. Gorgeous as always.
BizyLizy / July 9, 2008
I suppose patriotism, like religion, is defined by the individual. Equality in the U.S. is continually being challenged to include equality for all.
Charlene Dixon eloquently portrayed my thoughts and feelings on patriotism.
And Keith, who mentioned one of my favorite feminist icons of all time, reminded me that by claiming heritage to womanhood, I am honored to claim Sojourner Truth as a contributor to my personal equality as a woman. If you’ve never read her “Ain’t I a Woman?” I highly recommend.
http://www.feminist.com/resources/artspeech/genwom/sojour.htm
But honestly, the 4th, for me personally, is about a well-deserved day off with family & friends, bbq, and guaranteed laughs, watching inebriated, foolish men (who I reluctantly admit I am related to) setting off explosives in the backyard.
Doesn’t get much better than that.
Bygbaby / July 15, 2008
Damn, yall jumped all over this one! I am reserving my right to respond at this time.
Bygbaby