The United States of America once stood as a beacon of hope, a land of opportunity, a country where individuals have the rights to freedom of speech, of the press, and the right to assemble. For 244 years immigrants from around the world have made the United States their home. People from every ethnic background and people of all faiths have sought the promise America has to offer. Unfortunately, as many Americans know and many immigrants have found out, those rights and freedoms this country has stood for since it’s inception are not meant for every American.
Our country has promoted the idea of equality, opportunity, and freedom for all since the day of it’s independence in 1776. Unfortunately, as most of us are aware, that idea is a fiction, a fantasy…a LIE. This country was based on fighting for our rights and for equality, to see evidence of this, one must only look to the Boston Tea Party in 1773 where colonists protested and destroyed property. Other examples include: the fight to abolish slavery, which we finally managed in 1865 when the 13th amendment was ratified. The fight for the right for all women to vote that was brought into law with the 19th amendment in 1920. The Trail of Tears, Jim Crow, segregation, Japanese internment camps, “no Irish need apply,” Emmett Till, the assassination of Martin Luther King, and on, and on, and on. The amount of injustice, and hurt, and death that Americans have had to suffer at the hands of other Americans would almost be unfathomable, if it had not been happening since long before July 4th, 1776.
Today, we face words and phrases such as: Redlining, Measure 11, Three Strikes, “Build that wall,” THUGS, travel bans, gerrymandering, and much more. The situation has not changed, as Americans are still fighting for social justice, for legislative reform, for basic equality and freedom. As a minority owned business we see the struggle, but we also see the hope. We see men, women, children, people of all races and religions coming together and marching for change. We stand with our fellow Americans in remembering George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Sandra Bland, Philando Castile, Tamir Rice, Trayvon Martin and others who have lost their lives because they were seen as lesser by their fellow Americans. We stand for equality for ALL, no matter one’s color of skin, gender, sexual orientation, or religion. We as Americans must do better, we need to adapt and change and become more understanding of our fellow Americans. We need to actually live up to the ideals of freedom and equality this country was founded on and to do that WE NEED CHANGE.