Denson 1 Joshua Denson @02710326 Ms.

Atkins ENG 02-007 4 December, 2013 No Celebration for the Negro Nation The Fourth of July is viewed as a day of celebration and love for our country. Every year we as Americans come together, shoot fireworks, and enjoy each others company in the thought that 237 years ago America was freed from English control. However, America was not totally free. Blacks were still enslaved by their white counterparts for 86 more years. So should the holiday be referred to Independence Day*, with an asterisk? Negros were not free. So what exactly does the Fourth of July mean to Blacks? Fourth of July is not relevant to blacks because on an individual basis blacks were not free. Frederick Douglass stateds that the 4th of July is, a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim (Douglass 376). I believe that Frederick Douglass was correct in saying that The Fourth of July is not a celebration to African Americans, but actually a torment. It is no celebration to the Black community and it is disrespectful for it to be taught as such in school. The Fourth of July holds no meaning to the Black American. Independence by definition is freedom from outside control or support: the state of being independent (citation). By July 4th being the nations independence day, it is implying that everyone was free. This was obviously not the case. Blacks were still tortured for almost 100 more years after this. This holidays name is a bold lie. Blacks everywhere are encouraged to
Comment [S1]: Same as next comment Comment [S2]: Why is this a relevant question? A: because we still celebrate it. Why does it matter whether we celebrate it or not? A: the meaning behind it can be portrayed as irrelevant to black people because they were still enslaved. Comment [S3]: Avoid rhetorical questions. Simply state what it is you want your reader to be aware of. What is your argument? Comment [S4]: Is this the essence of what youre trying to argue? Could this work as your thesis? It doesnt have to, but make sure that whatever your claim is, it is debatable and complex enough to warrant three pages of debate and support. Comment [S5]: Give a topic sentence addressing some aspect of your argument that this paragraph is going to deal with Comment [S6]: RO Comment [S7]: What exactly is at risk by celebrating it? What does th 4th symbolize on its various levels? How is Douglasss argument against it different from yours? Comment [S8]: Why? Youre making these various points about the wrongness of it, but deal with the analysis and justification of what makes it wrong. Be sure that you can offer multiple angles to avoid being redundant. Comment [S9]: Citation/ source? Comment [S10]: Past or present?

Denson 2 celebrate this mockery to blacks, with the apparent truth always being swiftly overlooked. Slavery is always the elephant in the room when Independence Day is celebrated. Frederick Douglass went on to speak on the fact America is very hypocritical. Douglass highlights the American slave-trade. America denounced foreign slave trade. America put on a faade that it was just a horrendous act and that the wrath of the Nation on whoever participates in it. America put on this mask of being always doing right, but then had internal slave-trade. They not only still had internal slave-trade, but the encouraged and honored it. Blacks were still treated as property and worked to death for years after the Declaration of Independence due to this same internal slave-trade. So why should Blacks celebrate this day that was not meant for them?
Comment [S11]: Give some more tangible to sustain your argument you should begin moving away from slavery and Douglass. Incorporate other sources that prove the issue of celebrating now.

Works cited page? Sources other than Douglass to support your point that fourth of July shouldnt be celebrated. Give more Josh. More thoughts on why you believe this is still a relevant issue worthy of debate. Include the points others have said about your topic, try to find contemporary works within te last 0 years. If you cannot get anything that recent, then look for older works. Use Douglass to support you more than using him as the primary point you are trying to make. Remember you arent responding to Douglass, youre just taking the topic/issue he brings up and addressing it.