Content Warning: This piece includes an embedded tweet with graphic language.
There were some really hot takes this 4th of July. Not just from media outlets like The New York Times and NPR, but from sitting members of Congress, like Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO). Even President Joe Biden, in his speech from Sunday, mentioned "we have never fully lived up to the words" of the Declaration of Independence. Well, they kept coming. Perhaps the most illiterate take, though, comes from Toure for The Grio.
Fuck Independence Day. Not only were we not free, the whole reason the Colonies wanted independence was because Britain was moving toward abolishing slavery. Why would Black people celebrate a day so wrapped up in our enslavement? My latest for @theGriohttps://t.co/hWINXJEF0w
— Young Daddy (@Toure) July 4, 2021
The right is very, very upset about this piece. People who are dead set against Critical Race Theory and racial justice are very angry about this piece about Independence Day getting out. Sorry. Not sorry. https://t.co/OOkvZNtcCG
— Young Daddy (@Toure) July 5, 2021
Predictably, Twitter had not been kind, including and especially when it came to a history lesson. Toure was mercilessly ratioed.
LOL! You’re an idiot. You are among the most privileged black people on earth! The US had the SHORTEST period of institutional slavery, 1783-1863. Most Americans never owned slaves, many Americans were always abolitionists. Blacks fought & sacrificed in EVERY war for YOU, fool!???? pic.twitter.com/CGRilILi0o
— Montgomery Granger (@mjgranger1) July 5, 2021
Fun fact...the British were fully ready to back the Confederacy in the Civil War. Most of their cotton imports came from Southern states and were counting on the slave economy to keep it going. Which makes this idea that England was going to ban slavery in it's colonies laughable
— Marc Damon (@MarcDamon9) July 4, 2021
This is straight-up revisionism. Some of the northern colonies actually tried to abolish slavery, but King George wouldn't let them because it was too profitable for the British empire. Many colonists wanted independence so they COULD abolish slavery.
— Noah DeGarmo (@NoahDeGarmo) July 4, 2021
We can celebrate the opportunity we have in this country now even though our ancestors were enslaved.
— Stuck in the Middle (@StucknDaMid) July 4, 2021
Don't blame anybody for the hate in your heart but yourself. It can't be healthy.
It was literally not “the whole reason,” man.
— Steven ???????????? (@SFlipp) July 4, 2021
The US ended slave importation before Britain. This is just a stupid, ahistorical take.
— Sloth?????? (@SlothRedux) July 4, 2021
Making up history is far easier than learning it. Keep doing you, chief pic.twitter.com/J5WkkJaIsa
— George Alexopoulos ???? (@GPrime85) July 4, 2021
If there wasn’t a July 4, there would never have been a Juneteenth.
— Mike (@mrjc1) July 4, 2021
None of this is true and you are either illiterate or dishonest (or more likely both) for posting it.
— Dan O'Donnell (@DanODonnellShow) July 5, 2021
Shhhhhhhh don’t break their world view with historical facts
— Matthew Jouffray (@MJouffray) July 4, 2021
There's a door on the Southern border. Don't let it hit you on the ass on your way out.
— James Lindsay, uncitable (@ConceptualJames) July 4, 2021
The piece was published on July 3, but Toure chose not to tweet it out until July 4.
"F**k Fourth of July: The only independence day I recognize is Juneteenth," the headline screams. The subheadline acknowledges that "Black people are critical to America moving closer to living up to its promise," but continues with "But it’s still f**k Fourth of July for me."
Toure cites Nikole Hannah Jones and the 1619 Project, which even its supporters have acknowledged is inaccurate. This is in addition to it being incredibly anti-American.
Here's his take on Critical Race Theory, too, which is to equate those who are against teaching impressionable young children about how evil white people are with those in favor of keeping slavery. Emphasis is original:
Jefferson’s section blamed slavery on Britain, suggesting King George had forced it on America. Congress ended up rejecting that section and created a Constitution that protected slavery without mentioning it. This reminds me of today, a time when white supremacy shapes American life so deeply that white people are fighting against the teaching of Critical Race Theory because nowadays, as it was back in the early days of America, this country is both engaged in racism and in working hard to pretend it’s not.
To go along with the point Toure makes in his profane tweet, his piece mentions this:
America wanted to protect its cash cow and, even more, it was wealth derived from slavery that allowed the colonies to afford to pay for the War of Independence. The founding of this country is intertwined with slavery. Why would we celebrate that?
Toure's headline and closing both make mention of Juneteenth. President Biden recently signed legislation into law to make the day, which falls on June 19, a federal holiday. Emphasis is original:
In a world where the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery and Eric Garner and more remain hyperpresent in the Black mind, we still see shocking and sometimes bloody things happening to Black bodies because of the people of America. So miss me with your Fourth of July celebration this year and every year. The only independence day I recognize is Juneteenth.
It's truly a shame that we have people in this country who see the two as mutually exclusive.
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