Family Tree Girl

Every year, when fireworks fill the sky and people come together for Independence Day, I feel a mix of emotions. As an American with African roots, I am proud of my country and feel a strong sense of patriotism. I have spent time researching the American Revolution and learning about the overlooked stories of Black Patriots, Loyalists, free people of color, and enslaved men and women who helped build the United States. Still, I know that many of my ancestors were denied the freedoms we celebrate today.

My family history is a reflection of America. My ancestors include enslaved people, free people, and even enslavers. This has shown me that history is never simple. It is complex, sometimes uncomfortable, inspiring, heartbreaking, and always deeply human.

As genealogists, we get to look past myths and slogans. We find real people whose lives do not fit simple stories. This makes the Fourth of July both meaningful and challenging.

I often think about Frederick Douglass and his famous speech, What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?, given on July 5, 1852, in Rochester, New York. Douglass was invited to join in celebrating American independence, but he bravely asked one of the most important questions in our history:

“What, to the American slave, is your Fourth of July?”

His answer was powerful then and still is today. For the millions who were still enslaved, Independence Day showed the painful gap between America’s claim that “all men are created equal” and the reality of slavery, family separation, violence, and injustice. Douglass did not reject the ideals of the Declaration of Independence. Instead, he challenged the country to live up to them. He believed America had great principles but had not given them to everyone.

When I look at Revolutionary War records, I see that African Americans were not just watching the nation’s birth; they were part of it. Free Black men served in the Continental Army. Enslaved men took chances offered by both the Patriot and British armies, hoping for freedom. Black women supported families, communities, army camps, and the revolution in many ways that history often ignores.

These stories should be remembered because they show that African Americans were here before the United States knew what it would become. We helped build the colonies, worked the land, fought in the Revolution, kept families together in hard times, started churches and schools, and kept fighting for the freedoms promised in 1776. Our story is not separate from American history; it is American history.

That is why I sometimes struggle with July Fourth.

Am I celebrating a country that declared liberty while many ancestors remained enslaved? Or am I celebrating the enduring promise that generations of African Americans believed was worth fighting for, even when that promise was denied to them?

I believe the answer can be both.

Patriotism does not mean ignoring hard truths. I believe real patriotism requires honesty, and I think we often fall short of that. We honor America not by pretending its past was perfect, but by admitting where it failed and recognizing those who worked to bring it closer to its ideals.

As a professional genealogist, I have learned that research changes how we see things. Every pension file, deed, court order, church record, probate paper, and Freedmen’s Bureau document reminds me that history is made by regular people making big choices. Some chose courage. Others chose oppression. Many just tried to survive. All deserve to be understood in their own time.

Today’s challenges can make these contradictions feel even stronger. Many Americans, including many African Americans, look around and wonder if the country is moving away from its best ideals. Questions about equality, justice, opportunity, citizenship, and belonging are still part of our public conversations. These concerns are real and deserve careful discussion. But history teaches us something else: America has always changed. Every generation has been asked to see freedom in a bigger way than the one before. Abolitionists fought against slavery. 

Reconstruction tried to change what citizenship meant. The Civil Rights Movement demanded equal protection under the law. Each generation has had work left to do. Perhaps ours has  inherited unfinished work as well.

When I celebrate the Fourth of July, I do not celebrate perfection. I celebrate possibility.

I celebrate the Black Patriots whose names I have found in old records. I celebrate the families who were once enslaved but built lives despite huge obstacles. I celebrate the free people of color who showed that excellence could grow even with legal barriers. I celebrate the generations who believed America could improve.

Most of all, I celebrate the resilience of my own ancestors.

They survived slavery.

They survived discrimination.

They survived exclusion from many of the stories that now define our national identity.

But they never stopped building families, churches, businesses, schools, military traditions, and communities. Their strength made my work and my opportunities possible.

Frederick Douglass believed in the Constitution and in the nation’s ability to grow. His speech was not hopeless. It was a strong call for America to become what it said it was. More than 170 years later, that challenge is still with us every Independence Day.

So, how should Americans of African ancestry feel about the Fourth of July?

There is no single answer.

Some will celebrate with joy.

Some will observe with reflection.

Some will feel grief.

Many of us will experience all of those emotions at once. That does not make us less patriotic.

It makes us students of history. It means we know that loving our country and telling the truth about its past are not opposites. They go together.

As genealogists, we know something many people do not: names have power. Stories have power. Documents have power. Every forgotten ancestor we recover expands the American story.

Maybe the best way to honor Independence Day is not to ignore the contradictions of our past, but to make sure every person who helped build this country is remembered.

Because the American story has never belonged to only one people.

It belongs to all of us.