I Am Proud Of The Historical American Counter-Voices
Posted: Saturday, July 02, 2011
by Edward Rhymes
E Pluribus Unum … Out of many we are one
I must confess that the fourth of July, for me, has been fraught with conflict. How do I commemorate the independence and birth of the nation in which I was born & raised, and yet recognize that although this indeed is my country, it wasn’t my independence --- rather the independence of my people (African).
I fully realize that there are many who share the same history as I, whose view is dramatically different from my own. I understand that, respect it and do not begrudge them their conflict-free July fourth celebration. These are my insights; my feelings and my thoughts.
I know that these pronouncements will strike some as being un-patriotic or un-American, but I contend that honest and true dissent is foundational to America. The preamble of the Declaration of Independence is essentially an article of dissent; a statement that outlines the framework of a new nation and simultaneously illustrates why this new nation is necessary: When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
That is why I am proud of the American counter-voices in our history. They tell a very specific story in regard to the American experience and yet their message is transcendent and applicable to all. Their narratives are rooted and steeped in the language and ideals of the American Revolution, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, but it is America itself that they are making their appeal to.
Frederick Douglass in his famous speech in New York, on July 5 1852, (he was asked to speak at an event celebrating Independence Day) paid homage to those ideas and the men who gave birth to them:
Fellow Citizens, I am not wanting in respect for the fathers of this republic. The signers of the Declaration of Independence were brave men. They were great men, too-great enough to give frame to a great age. It does not often happen to a nation to raise, at one time, such a number of truly great men. The point from which I am compelled to view them is not, certainly, the most favorable; and yet I cannot contemplate their great deeds with less than admiration. They were statesmen, patriots and heroes, and for the good they did, and the principles they contended for, I will unite with you to honor their memory.
Nevertheless, he also gave voice to the conflict that was still raging in the hearts of many Blacks in America at the time. He voiced the dissent of those voiceless ones whose stories for far too many years and for far too many times, had gone untold:
I am not included within the pale of this glorious anniversary! Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us. The blessings in which you, this day, rejoice, are not enjoyed in common.-The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me. The sunlight that brought light and healing to you, has brought stripes and death to me. This Fourth July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn. To drag a man in fetters into the grand illuminated temple of liberty, and call upon him to join you in joyous anthems, were inhuman mockery and sacrilegious irony.
When a nation’s actions falls pitifully short of its best ambitions; when a country’s deeds are woefully out of step with its highest stated values, then the counter-voices within that society become all the more important. The noble, piercing and eloquent words uttered by Frederick Douglass, were voiced by a man, for who all intents and purposes, was a runaway slave; an outlaw; a fugitive for justice--- who could have at any time, according to the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, been seized and sent back to his master or his heirs. This makes his prescient words all the more courageous.
My Dungeon Shook is, in my opinion, one of the greatest pieces of American literature. James Baldwin challenged the agenda of the, then- current, national conversation about freedom, liberty and justice. In a letter written to his nephew in 1963, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, Baldwin paints a powerful portrait of America as seen through the eyes of those who had not been able to fully declare their liberty as Americans:
This innocent country set you down in a ghetto in which, in fact, it intended that you should perish. Let me spell out precisely what I mean by that, for the heart of the matter is here, and the root of my dispute with my country. You were born where you were born, and faced the future that you faced because you were black and for no other reason. The limits of your ambition were, thus, expected to be set forever. You were born into a society which spelled out with brutal clarity, and in as many ways as possible, that you were a worthless human being. You were not expected to aspire to excellence: you were expected to make peace with mediocrity. Wherever you have turned, James, in your short time on this earth, you have been told where you could go and what you could do (and how you could do it) and where you could do it and whom you could marry.
In the preceding passage Baldwin gives voice to my aforementioned conflict; he channels Douglass’ dissection of America’s paradoxical relationship with its children of African descent (and with other groups as well). And yet, beautifully and wonderfully, Baldwin offers hope and instruction to his nephew James --- and by extension, to all of us:
You, don’t be afraid. I said that it was intended that you should perish in the ghetto, perish by never being allowed to go behind the white man’s definitions, by never being allowed to spell your proper name. You have, and many of us have, defeated this intention; and, by a terrible law, a terrible paradox, those innocents who believed that your imprisonment made them safe are losing their grasp of reality. But these men are your brothers—your lost, younger brothers. And if the word integration means anything, this is what it means: that we, with love, shall force our brothers to see themselves as they are, to cease fleeing from reality and begin to change it. For this is your home, my friend, do not be driven from it; great men have done great things here, and will again, and we can make America what America must become. It will be hard, James, but you come from sturdy, peasant stock, men who picked cotton and dammed rivers and built railroads, and in the teeth of the most terrifying odds, achieved an unassailable and monumental dignity.
When the history of America and its independence is told, the accounts of those left behind; the stories of those who were not allowed to be a part of that, as Lincoln described it, new birth of freedom, must also be told. The American counter-voice is an echo of the ancient Israelite prophet Daniel as he read the handwriting on the wall: you are weighed in the balance and are found wanting; their voices say to us that they will not rest, and nor indeed should we, if our work in the cause of American liberty, is incomplete, unacceptable or invalid.
I am proud of counter-voices such as Douglass and Baldwin, but I do not exclude Emerson, Thoreau, Sojourner Truth or Stowe. My story is an American story; it happened here. I am connected to my Irish, Swedish, Hungarian, Japanese, fellow-citizens; I am a beneficiary of their counter-voices as well. In my small way, I feel as if I am connected to those long-ago voices as I attempt to give a more complete rendering of our American history.
So where does that leave me this Independence Day? Although I can’t fully celebrate the day, I honor, and am proud of, the ideals that it encapsulates.
References
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html
http://www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/douglassjuly4.html
http://www.valdosta.edu/~cawalker/baldwin.htm
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Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)I appreciate your insight, Edward, and I'm proud to be a fellow American of yours.
It was only 2 years ago that I heard for the first time that not all Americans gained independence in 1776. I guess it was my own arrogance that prevented me from understanding that concept earlier.
I do think there is a movement, starting with my generation and expanding exponentially with my childrens' generation, where we disown the biases and bigotry of our ancestors. It's slow in coming, but it is progress.Thanks for commenting Bruce. I wrote this piece, not because I am against any celebration of Independence Day. I wrote it because I owe it to my ancestors (not that dissimilar to what many believe they owe to the people who came before them in celebrating Independence Day); their voices should be heard; history should be told and taught in its entirety and not in slices.
I honestly hope that my message was conveyed without rancor or animus towards my country, but history is what it is.
I do believe as we learn and teach about these historical topics and issues the opportunity to eradicate these biases and bigotries increases. I am concerned, however, that the accurate telling of history is under assault and as a result the next generation is at risk of repeating these same transgressions (just in a different way).
I really appreciate you commenting and I missed being on SearchWarp. It remains a place where I belong.
Very nicely done, sir. Thanks for including Emerson. Great job!Michael it so good to hear from you. I have always appreciated your comments. Thanks for stopping by.
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