As the United States of America moves toward another celebration of the Fourth of July, I have found myself pondering this day what it means and how different people and cultures within the United States celebrate it.
It also made me look at the formation and history of the Pledge of Allegiance. I used two websites – Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and USHistory.org. I looked at some others, but most were similar. It was originally written by Francis Bellamy, a minister. It was adopted by Congress in 1942. The words “under God” were added by Congress in 1952. There has been a good bit of discussion in the past few years about the use of the pledge. Many people have struggled over the years about its use and what it means to say it. I am one of those. The discussion and struggle has now become public. It is not just people of color who struggle with it. I want to come back to this a little later.
While my thoughts are not accepted universally, I want to share with you some personal perceptions. First, I understand the celebration of July 4, 1776, as a celebration of freedom for white men. Perhaps it had some limited freedom for white women, although they could not vote or own property until much later. What if in 1775 when Patrick Henry said “Give me liberty or give me death,” his slaves and the slaves of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and others that were present had said, “Me too”? Well, that did not happen because slaves were counted as three-fifths of a person for counting purposes. They were never thought of as PERSONS WHO NEEDED FREEDOM.
So I would surmise that for the average white person and person of color, particularly for Black people, this day means something very different and is celebrated differently. I do not see flags in great numbers flying in Black communities. While we are thankful for the freedom that we do experience now, we do not experience the level of freedom that our white brothers and sisters experience. For us, white privilege is still real. For Black people, it is more of a time off to spend with family and/or friends relaxing at a cook-out or doing some fun activities. Most Black churches are not likely to sing “patriotic songs,” lift high the American flag or recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
I struggle with reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. This country was not founded on principles stated in the pledge. In my opinion, it does not presently live up to those principles. I could go down the pledge line by line and point out all of the shortcomings. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure that out, so I will not do that. However, in spite of that, I love this country and I think most people of color as well as most others love this country.
Therefore, I want to spend some time during this July Fourth season praying for these states and the people in them that they may be united. For me, prayer is a word that requires verbalizing and acting. So I would ask you to join with me in praying to your God some requests:
- Pray that we may become united in thought, word and deed as we seek “… liberty and justice for all,” “indivisible” (not separable into parts).
- Pray that we as individuals and as a society will not be the oppressor, but will seek to release those who are oppressed.
- Pray that God’s grace and mercy will be shown to the United States of America and to the world.
Isaiah 56:1 (NRSV) “Thus says the Lord: Maintain justice, and do what is right, for soon my salvation will come and my deliverance be revealed.”
The Rev. Ervin E. Milton is pastor of Union Chapel United Church of Christ, Burlington. He can be contacted at eem5050@aol.com.
