"The Truth About Independence Day..."

The U.S. Two Dollar Bill

Although not commonly used, the two dollar bill is still in circulation. The reverse of the bill features an engraving of John Trumbull's famous painting, "Presentation of The Declaration of Independence."

Immortalized in this famous painting are 56 of the brave signers of The Declaration of Independence. And yet, The "4th of July" is perhaps the most ironic of American celebrations.

In school, we were taught that these brave men risked their all to establish our nation and the freedoms we enjoy, but they never taught us the entire truth about these patriots... And so for many Americans, it has always been a bittersweet holiday indeed.

The most famous lines from the declaration will be recited many times today:

 “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

And yet:

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The red dots are the signers who enslaved other human beings to create their wealth and independence

Learn the names of these men whose descendants will proudly proclaim their lineage today.

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A Fourth of July Celebration among the Black Residents of

St. Helena Island, South Carolina, 1939

Black People Were Denied Vanilla Ice Cream In The Jim Crow South – Except On Independence Day

One result of legalized racism in America was this strange limit, which helped teach kids the rules of a segregated society

The Guardian

Michael W Twitty

4 Jul 2014

By custom rather than by law, black folks were best off if they weren't caught eating vanilla ice cream in public in the Jim Crow South, except – the narrative always stipulates – on the Fourth of July. I heard it from my father growing up myself, and the memory of that all-but-unspoken rule seems to be unique to the generation born between World War I and World War II.

But if Maya Angelou hadn't said it in her classic autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, I doubt anybody would believe it today.

Read the rest of this article here.

And yes, this is real and confirmed to me first-hand by my own mother who lived under this oppression in Mississippi. So yes, like most Americans, today's festivities will include ice cream, but for me, it will be a bittersweet reminder of our nation's refusal to reconcile itself to our ironic and horrible history.

"God bless America, land that I love..."