In 1775 the Atlantic Colonies of the British Empire rebelled against the rule of George III. Battles against the Crown had been fought around Boston in Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill. While failing to Capture Quebec in the winter of 1776, the Continental Army under Washington had forced the English out of Boston on March 17 emboldening the Continental Congress to convene that summer in free Philadelphia.

Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, and Samuel Adams set to writing the Declaration of Independence, highlighted by the famous words, “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.”

The reign of a distant sovereign ended forever, however the phrase ‘all men are created equal’ had not applied to everyone.

Only people of property possessed the right to vote and liberated Africans in four states and women in New Jersey initially were allowed to exercise this freedom as long as they satisfied the property requirements, but over the years their right was stripped by every state.

The US Constitution existed without any provisions for voting right until after the Civil War with the passage of the 15th Amendment in 1870, however voter suppression against Native tribes, Africans, Asians, Washington DC citizens, women, immigrants, felons and youth was violently enforced across the USA to insure white supremacy.

The racist reactionaries were defeated with the passage of the Civil Rights Act on 1965.

They regrouped to regain power against the people.

The GOP are the legal arm of the KKK.

Trump is their messiah.

We will never all be equal, but one day we will come close.

“As MLK said, “I have a dream.” and so do all of us.

Happy Fourth of July.