“To me it is just another day. I enjoy getting together with family, the barbecue. I like to come for the food, but in general, the 4th of July is really just another day. For the Black community, I don’t think it has much significance because independence didn’t apply to us.”
“I feel like it isn’t really the same, and I think it has just become a glorified holiday. I don’t think it ever really did a lot for Black people, and it was more of a White holiday.”
“We feel like we have to celebrate the 4th of July because of what we learned in school, but we don’t know the real truth from that unless we were there. And a lot of holidays have some bad, hidden meaning. But no, I don’t believe that it has the same meaning.”
“I personally don’t celebrate July 4th. Because my son was born on the 4th of July, I celebrate his birthday. If he wasn’t born on the 4th of July, I would just be at the house. It would just be another day.”
“From a Black aspect, it’s different. On our Fourth of July, we celebrate family getting together, and people don’t really care so much about the independence part. It changed for me because, you know, family fades away, but when you come back together, it brings that vibe back. I never really even cared about Independence Day, and I was more excited for my family getting together, hanging around, and popping fireworks together. For people who come from different cultures and care about their history, it is different for them.”
“I am from the Bahamas, so I don’t know the significance of independence here, because it is a different kind of celebration, but I am sure that this permeates beyond just independence. It is probably whatever the vibes are that you are feeling, as a Black American. But I have been here for a couple of days and we already feel the difference. But just being online and aware of things, yeah, it does feel like it has a different meaning.”
