Nine years ago I posted "Why Quakers Didn't Celebrate July 4th," and I'm updating this in light of what I have learned about the racist history of the American Revolution, thanks to Gerald Horne, a prolific and prophetic African American historian. I will give this reflection as part of ICUJP's Friday Forum this Friday, July 2. The topic will be the Poor People's Campaign. You're warmly invited to attend. See https://laquaker.blogspot.com/2021/06/a-national-call-for-moral-revival-rev.html
As a child, I loved the Fourth of July and looked forward each year to going to the fireworks displays. But when I grew up and became a Quaker, I began to question the pervasive violence of July 4th--the orgy of fireworks that makes some parts of our cities seem like war zones. When I hear the line "Bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night that our flag was still there," I don't think of the British attacking Washington, DC which inspired our national anthem; I think of Hiroshima, Dresden, the carpet bombing of Vietnam, drone strikes, and much more. That's why I never stand up for the National Anthem and feel empathy for those who “take a knee.” I love my country but abhor the violence for which it all too often stands.
As the Fourth of July approaches, it is worth noting that Quakers did not
celebrate this holiday, and it cost them dearly. The first official Fourth of
July celebration did not happen until 1781, but on July 4th, 1776,
there were a few celebrations in Philadelphia
and in 1777 there were many more. That day was also marked by
violence. Homes of Quakers were vandalized by those who believed the Quakers
were not patriotic because they did not celebrate the Fourth of July. Because
of their pacifist convictions, Quakers did not celebrate any holidays that
commemorated military victories.
We Americans like to imagine we are a peaceful nation, yet we are "largest
purveyor of war in the world," as Martin Luther King once said, referring
to the US arms trade (where we are still number 1). Americans believe
passionately in the myth of redemptive violence, and equate freedom with
violence, because we imagine our nation could not have become free without a
bloody revolution.
In the 1770s the Quakers in Philadelphia
believed otherwise. They sent emissaries to negotiate with the British. They
refused to accept tea that had been taxed, but instead of disguising themselves
as Indians and throwing it into the Delaware River, they quietly paid the
British merchants to take it back to England. They did what they could to avoid
war, and I believe the Quakers were right. I highly recommend the book The
Missing Peace: The Search for Nonviolent Alternatives in United States
History by James Juhnke and Carol Hunter (2004), which describes
what Quakers did to avert a war with England.
I feel these Quakers were on the right track. History shows it was possible to
achieve independence without bloodshed, as was the case with Canada and
Australia. It took time and patience, and I'm sure, a bit of cunning, but think
of all the lives that were saved.
The African American historian and former UCSB professor Gerald
Horne has given me another reason to question the conventional ideas about the
4th of July. In his book The Counterrevolution of 1776, he
debunks that notion that the American Revolution was “a great step
forward for humanity.” He points out, “The Africans then living in the colonies overwhelmingly
sided with the British” and for good reason. He shows that “in the prelude to
1776, the abolition of slavery seemed all but inevitable in London, delighting
Africans as much as it outraged slaveholders, and sparking the colonial revolt.”
“The so-called Revolutionary War,” Horne writes,
“was in part a counter-revolution, a conservative movement that the founding
fathers fought in order to preserve their right to enslave others.”
This book opened
my eyes to an aspect of the American Revolution that was never discussed in my
education. You can hear Gerald Horne explain his thesis by going to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C71DIrOmkBM.
I was also never
taught that our slave-holding “founding fathers” were deeply in debt because of
their lavish lifestyle and used slaves as collateral—a fact that historian
Clyde Ford explores in his forthcoming book Of Blood and Sweat: Black Lives
and the Making of White Power and Wealth. Ford shows how our banking
institutions were tainted by the slave system from the onset and have continued
to privilege whites over people of color. For this reason, he calls for debt
relief, eviction moratoriums, and reparations.
I’ll close by noting that in
1776, the Quakers unanimously came to unity that
Quakers were forbidden from owning slaves, and 14 years later they
petitioned the U.S. Congress for the abolition of slavery. Quakers
were not free from racism, however. In the early days of colonial America, some
Quakers, including William Penn, owned slaves, but eventually the vast majority
of Quakers saw the Light, renounced slavery, and some became key leaders in
abolitionist movement. Quakers saw no reason to celebrate the 4th of
July. For me as a Quaker, Juneteenth is a holiday much more worthy of
celebration.
Rev. Dr. Beth Johnson is the minister of Palomar Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Vista, CA. As a minster, activist and public theologian, she works on intersectional issues including immigration, worker and racial justice, as well as environmental justice. Dr. Johnson is a quad-chair of the CA Coordinating Committee of the Poor People’s Campaign, as well as co-chair of the Unitarian Universalist Association Poor People’s Campaign Leadership Council.
Colleen Y. Thomas is a certified spiritual director and holds an M.A. in Theology and Art from Fuller Theological Seminary. She is a member of All Saints Episcopal Church Beverly Hills, chaplain to the Los Angeles chapter of the Union of Black Episcopalians, and convener of the LA Poor People’s Campaign Multifaith Working Group.
Rev. Stief is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ (UCC). A national leader and faith strategist on ending the torture of solitary confinement in U.S. prisons, jails and detention centers, he speaks widely at colleges, interfaith events, and state coalition actions.
Jamiah is a chronic social entrepreneur, community leader, and self-proclaimed gardening engineer. His innovative business and design models gained the attention of LA city officials looking for solutions around water, food, and economic sustainability, and he was named a 2019 Good Food Champion. Jamiah