Taken at Jones Beach, 07.03.2026

America celebrates her 250th birthday!

Happy Birthday to the United States of America.

The Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson, was adopted on July 4, 1776, 250 years ago.

The first line might be the most meaningful in the annals of history, certainly for America! But it does not stand on its own.

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.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.–Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

The man who wrote those lines owned slaves. To state that Thomas Jefferson owned slaves is an historical fact. America is uneasy with facts, especially facts surrounding her founders and heroes. To state facts is not unpatriotic. America would be a more perfect Union if it faced the facts of its history. Its history does not take away from what we think of as the “greatness” of America.

I was going to begin this blog with, “The facts before the rant,” but this is not a rant.

From the very beginning, Black folk served this country and fought in every major war, including the War for Independence. In my family alone, we served in four of the major wars of the 20th century. As a teenager, my father, a native Southern son, was drafted into the segregated U.S. Army to serve during World War II. His uncle had served in World War I. One of my father’s brothers served during the Korean War, and cousins served during the Vietnam War. Black folk have always put skin in the game for the country they love, even when the country did not show them love!

I was born at the very beginning of the Black Arts Era. Samuel Yette, the first Black national correspondent for Newsweek, wrote that the 1960s were the Decisive Decade. That decade shaped the future of America just as much as July 4, 1776. That decade, America stood on the precipice of becoming a more perfect Union, but we assassinated our great leaders: Malcolm X, JFK, MLK, RFK, Fred Hampton….

When we look at the above leaders from the Decisive Decade, they were all young, in their 20s, 30s, and 40s. Thomas Jefferson was 33 when he wrote the Declaration of Independence. George Washington was 57 when he became America’s first president.

When we look at “leaders” today, most are past their prime and seemingly do not want to retire or cultivate the next generation of leaders. This might be America’s undoing. As we celebrate this Day, this is something we should think about, including a mandatory retirement age for Supreme Court Justices, as well as age limits on running for the presidency, say 67, which is the full retirement age for someone born in 1960.