Fall 2019

Fall of 2019

2019 hasn't ended yet, and we see tons of historic developments in America plus throughout the world from Presidential campaigns (among the most diverse field of Democratic candidates in American history) to the pro-democracy Hong Kong protests. This time allows us to see an opportunity to promote courage. When black people are victims of hate crimes plus being falsely accused of crimes, when immigrants are demonized by far right extremists (and murdered by a cowardly gunman in El Paso, Texas. The murderer wrote that he wanted to murder Latino people), and when overt extremists like Ken Cuccinelli lies about the words found in the Statue of Liberty in order for him to promote limits on legal immigration, then we have to show forthrightness in resisting evil. It is important to point out that as a black person, I believe in promoting the interests of my black people. This does cause me to empathize for others who are oppressed too. Evil is global, and we must defeat oppression internationally not just nationally as Malcolm X has accurately stated. This is a battle between the oppressed and the oppressor, and we are on the side of the oppressed. We know who Donald Trump is. We know about his racism, his sexism, his xenophobia, his abhorrent character, and his lies. The Washington Post recorded about 492 lies from Trump during his first 100 days in office alone.

That is why we we must not only encourage those who agree with us. It is our duty to try to convince those who can change to wake up and reject the nefarious agenda of Donald Trump. Stephen Miller is one person who has influenced the development of most of the most evil, callous policies of immigration to even limit legal immigration. Reasonable gun safety reforms is never equivalent to gun disarmament regardless of what the NRA says. Not to mention that we have racial injustice in America. Many poor and working class African Americans are demonized not only by white racists but they by the bourgeoisie (including some of the middle class) among every color via elitist disrespect. The interests of us, who are African Americans, must always be respected and honored. The truth is that those suffering poverty deserve investments, opportunities, adequate housing, living wages, and justice not scapegoating. Rejecting the system of white supremacy and all of its manifestations (like opposing false beauty standards, colorism, evil divisions, etc.) is key in freeing your minds and being truly free.

The water crisis in Newark is a very serious story. For decades, many American cities have lax infrastructure. With the political climate now, some people desire no investments instead of real investments to help the great people of Newark and in other areas of America. Lead is a nuerotoxin that can permanently harm intelligence and the genes of any person, especially among the young. Newark is also the largest city in New Jersey in terms of population. Bottled water is found everywhere as a way for the suffering to experience some help. This situation is certainly sad, and no city or town should experience this at any circumstance. This comes after more than five years after the start of the Flint water crisis (that continues in Flint to this very day). Flint's problems came by the deliberate switching of the water source. Newark's problem came about by a cover up of the city's water authority and by politicians. The head of the Newark Watershed Corporation is heading to prison for bribery and skimming profits. Years ago, many people without experience in water testing, tested the water. Now, we find many tests being found to have lead in the water at Newark, NJ. So, the Watershed Corporation is complicit in financial corruption and ignoring increased levels of lead.


Newark's pipes must be replaced, since many of them existed since the 19th century. That will take commitment and economic resources. The common lie among Republicans and some Democrats is that there is no money to rebuild American infrastructure. The truth is that we spend almost 1 trillion dollars overseas (involving military expenditures), so we do have money to do this. Newark is just a train ride to New York City. It's that close. Yet, Wall Street holds trillions of dollars of financial assets. That is why radical solutions not centrism is necessary. How can centrism or being a moderate end Newark's water crisis (with tons of people are being required to use bottles for everyday living or they will experience lead poisoning). That doesn't make sense. Centrism can never solve the water problems in Flint, Michigan either. That is why structural change is necessary in America.

The Hurricane Dorian has been destructive to the Bahamas and other places of North America. At least 30 innocent people have died as a product of the storm. It is also important to make note that many areas of the Bahamas are completely destroyed. Many people have lost their family members and friends. Some lack clean water. There is humanitarian work done constantly in order to save lives literally. If people want to send aid and financial resources, they can send such aid to the following charities: the Grand Bahama Disaster Relief Fund, the Bahamas Red Cross Society, the Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity, Project Hope, Americares, and other organizations. You can Google such groups on the Internet to end aid or money. Human beings in the Bahamas certainly need shelter, food, water, and compassion.

Climate change does play a role on the high intensity of such hurricanes. We have record summer heat and increased temperatures worldwide. Climate change can never be solved by centrism or middle of the road policies. It's a worldwide emergency which requires a bold, revolutionary solution beneficial to all people. The islands of Grand Bahama and Abaco have been the hardest hit by the hurricane. Dorian is the strongest hurricane to hit landfall in North America sicne 1935. Missing persons are real in the Bahamas. Damage and suffering happened in North Carolina, South Carolina, and other parts of America. We have empathy, since we are human.

The History of the United States Part 12: The Culture of America (The Finale)

One fact is true about American culture. It is the most multicultural and diverse culture in human history. One large part of American culture is both the merging of other cultures and other original indigenous cultures at the same time. For example, pizza, Cubism, drums, kente cloth, and other forms of culture embraced in America didn’t originate from America. Also, we know that the music of jazz is an indigenous form of American music. The United States of America has influences from African, Native American, Asian, Polynesian, European, and Latin American peoples. The way we talk, the fashion we wear, our cuisine, our stories, our habits, our art, and our social habits deal with the beauty of American culture. One example is that when some wear jerseys as clothes and when some eat hamburgers at times, then that is a reflection of American culture. Music and media from the United States has impacted the globe for decades and centuries. The shows on BET from Black Girls Rock to the various, new movies about the lives of artist outline black culture including American realities.

Motown has worldwide influence. We can witness that by countries embracing hip hop, pop artists touring the world, R&B being popular, U.S. gospel making an impact on human culture, and jazz being embraced by a wide spectrum of human beings. Everyone knows about the cinema industry being an influential in the world society. The powerful films of Malcolm X and Glory exemplify the power of American stories. Migration from people from across the globe into America has made America better. In this final part of the history of the United States of America series, it is time to discuss a diverse amount of subjects. To witness American comedy, poetry, theater, architecture, symbols, and folklore is to recognize the greatness found among many Americans. We know about evil Americans, but it is also important to praise great Americans who promote honesty, humility, and justice wholeheartedly. In other words, the essence of American culture is its dynamic flexibility spanning the centuries of United States history. American culture is an integral part of world culture.

Literature

American literature has always been created by people of every color and of every background. Back centuries ago, the earliest forms of American literature dealt with nonfiction and fiction. They related to colonial life, slavery, myths, and other aspects of how human beings lived back then. Much of the early literature dealt with religions. Puritan ideals were advanced in various stories as Puritan settlers came into America back in the 1600’s. There were European settlements in Saint Augustine, Santa Fe, the Dutch settlements in Albany and in NYC. Oral traditions were found among Native Americans. Captain John Smith wrote stories about the Virginia colony. Other early writers were Daniel Denton, Thomas Ash, William Penn, etc. Phyllis Wheatley wrote poetry. Wheatley was a such great writer of literature, that people around the world back then acknowledged her literary greatness. Many writers like Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, and Thomas Paine wrote political writings. Thomas Jefferson was the author of the United States Declaration of Independence. As time went on, many writers focused on culture, spirituality, and culture like Washington Irving, Edgar Allan Poe, and Ralph Waldo Emerson (who followed Transcendentalism). Frederick Douglass’ “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave” depicted his life story from slavery to freedom.

Frederick Douglass wanted to abolish slavery. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” novel inspired further abolitionist movements. Adultery was mentioned in the 19th century story of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Walt Whitman, Emily Dickson, and Mark Twain were some of the greatest writers of the 19th century. By the early 20th century, many writers discussed the disillusionment with war and the Great Depression like F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and William Faulkner. Ezra Pound, Robert Frost, and others had international status as great writers. John Steinbeck didn’t pull back in his works about suffering. From the mid-20th century to the current 21st century, American authors have dealt with war, fiction, multicultural realities, sex, race, class, science fiction, and the wide themes of world society. From Maya Angelou to Sandra Cisneros, people of color have a huge role in the development of American literature. Toni Morrison and other writers outlined the genius of literary talent, and they described the complex lives of black American people. Toni Morrison recently passed away, but her legacy will eternally live onward. The experience of black people in America completely matters as does the experience of every human being on this Earth.

Art

American art is a powerful way of self-expression. From thousands of years, Native Americans used art in paintings, pottery, and other patterns that have been influenced by their imaginations. Native Americans created great art, and this art is American art too.  From the Mississippian culture to the Southwestern Native American culture, paintings and other artistic designs were commonplace. As time went on, the colonial era and the Revolutionary era saw portraits of leaders like Gilbert Stuart’s portrait of George Washington. There was more pottery back then as well. John Singleton Copley was a famous painter. During the 19th century, Eastman Johnson, George Caleb Ginham, and other artists show many environments. By the 20th century, an explosion of art exists. The Southwest saw Georgia O’Keefe. The Cubism and abstract art took shape. The Harlem Renaissance had African Americans like Robert Lawrence and Augusta Savage expressing paintings, sculptures, and dance performances that outlined the diversity of black life. Aaron Douglas, Archibald Motley, Lois Mailou Jones, and other artists of the Harlem Renaissance were very influential to the art of the modern age. New Deal art was very diversity. One of the greatest photographers of all time was Gordon Parks. He was a man who recorded images of American life for decades from parties to historical figures. He made a collection of egalitarian works that we appreciate to this very day. During the 21st century, art is focused on the environment, technology, digital paintings, and other forms of human expression.

STEM

We are filled with technology. From homes to computers, STEM fields dominate our society. That is why there is an increased movement for young people, old people, minorities, women, girls, and the poor to have access to STEM field. STEM is one of the few fields on Earth that will be permanently found in any civilization, because we all need math, we all need to build things, and we all desire functional institutions. Eclectic architecture is reflected in the Art Deco architectural style of the Empire State building. The role of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates in the expansion of internet technology can never be understated. They used Apple and Microsoft for home personal usage, research, storing data, and other functions. Jobs creating the I-Phone is one of the most remarkable, important inventions in human history.

Americans of every color have used STEM to benefit humanity like Katherine Johnson, Otis Boykin, Henry Brown, George Washington Carver, Patricia Bath, Luis Walter Alvarez, Charles Apgar, Barbara Askins, and other human beings. The growth of technology has influenced the world from the telegraph to the airplane. America gave birth to humans going to the Moon by 1969, which is one of the greatest technological accomplishments in human history. The airplane, the IPod, video games, online shopping, the Internet, and other STEM tools either were invented in America or has been adopted by Americans as a staple of modern life.

Religion

Spirituality and religion is a very important part of American culture. The vast majority of Americans believe in the existence of one God. The largest religion in America now is Christianity. From ancient times to today, America has experienced followers of many religions or no religion at all. Thousands of years ago, Native Americans were mostly polytheistic. In 2016 (according to a Gallup poll of almost 200,000 people interviewed), 48.9% people in America are Protestants, 23% are Roman Catholics, 1.8% are Mormons, 18.2% embrace no religion, 2.1% embrace Judaism, 0.8% embrace Islam, 2.5% believe in a non-Christian religion, and there has been no response in 2.7%. In America, we have the First Amendment that permits the freedom of religion while banning an establishment of religion. That means that people can believe what he or she wants without a theocracy. The United States of America has religious pluralism and diversity.

During the colonial times, many religious people came into America as a means for them to escape religious persecution. That is many Anglicans, Catholics, Baptists, Jewish people, and others came into America. The First and Second Great Awakenings expanded Baptist and Methodist membership. The Episcopal Church came during the American Revolution. By the 19th century, independent religious groups were formed the like Mormons, Adventism, and the Jehovah Witness. They were created by charismatic leaders, they hold onto unique doctrines, and their views spread rapidly in their popularity. The Pentecostal movement came via the Azusa Street Revival during the early 20th century. Pentecostals want to emotionally express their honor to God. The New Age movement, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam grew in America since the mid to late 20th century. During the 2010’s, Protestantism for the first time stopped being the religious category of the majority of Americans. Christians are about 73.7% of the American population. Judaism is the second largest religion in America. The third largest religion is Islam. Islam has grown too in America. Malcolm X heavily was involved in expanding Islamic religious followers in America. American Muslims are also America's most diverse religious community with 25% identifying as black or African American, 24% identifying as white, 18% identifying as Asian/Chinese/Japanese, 18% identifying as Arabic, and 5% identifying as Hispanic. There is the growth of humanists and atheists. One fifth of the US public and a third of adults under the age of 30 are reportedly unaffiliated with any religion, however they identify as being spiritual in some way. Of these religiously unaffiliated Americans, 37% classify themselves as spiritual but not religious.

Cuisine

Foods in America are extremely diverse. America is about 1/3 of a billion people. Food has been influenced by African Americans, women, immigrants, Native Americans, Italian Americans, Irish Americans, Latino Americans, Greek Americans, German Americans, and other people of every background. When you think about American cuisine, you think about wheat and corn. You think about turkey, potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, and maple syrup. Modern American food is always a mixture of African, European, Asian, Oceanic, Native American, and Australian influences. Some foods have been Americanized like American Chinese cuisine or Italian American cuisine. There are celebrations of foods like people eating hamburgers, pot roast, baked ham, or hot dogs that came from German cuisine. Soul food involved fish, sweet potatoes, fried chicken, greens, and other forms of food. From gumbo to jambalaya, American food is never dull. One truth about America is the high number of people drinking coffee. More than half of all American adults drink at least one cup of coffee per day. Fast foods, soft drinks, and other foods are common. With a growing fitness culture, people have more of awareness that healthy eating is important as well. Fries and doughnuts are heavily consumed in America too. There is a growing amount of people in the United States of America being vegan or vegetarians. So, from apple cobbler to a sub, America’s cuisine remains totally unique.

American fashion

Fashion in the United States of America evolved based upon religion, culture, and time period. One part of American fashion is the blue jean. It was popularized by the merchant Levi Strauss, who was a German-Jewish immigrant in San Francisco (and it was adopted by many people later on). People know about cowboy hats, boots, and leather jackets. Centuries ago, fashion was heavily influenced by the civilizations of the Native Americans, Europe, and Africa. Many colonial people took on European style of fashion. After the 1800’s, fashion evolved into being more multifaceted. People wore diverse clothing like suits, ties, and bikinis. Some people explored Afros and other forms of clothes in the 1960’s and the 1970’s. From the 1980’s to the modern era, Americans fashion is heavily diverse. The fashion industry is based in London, New York City, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Milan. Supermodels dominate the fashion industry like Naomi Campbell. Also, musical artists have huge fashion influence like Rihanna, Beyoncé, Ciara, etc.

Sports

Sports and athleticism are huge American staples. For centuries, sports have been part of the United States. There have been schools dealing with gymnastics, hygiene training and care since 1820. Colleges by the 1800 are dealt with intramural sports like track, etc. Most schools had physical education by the 20th century. Baseball was the oldest of the major American team sports. Professional baseball dates from 1869. It has been called America’s pastime. Baseball, soccer, basketball, track and field, football, volleyball, swimming, and other sports are performed in America all of the time. American football, known in the United States as simply "football," now attracts more television viewers than any other sport and is considered to be the most popular sport in the United States. The 32-team National Football League (NFL) is the most popular professional American football league. The National Football League differs from the other three major pro sports leagues in that each of its 32 teams plays one game a week over 17 weeks, for a total of 16 games with one bye week for each team. Today, basketball is hugely popular in America, and it was invented by a Canadian man named James Naismith. Players like LeBron James and Kawahi Leonard are hugely popular internationally. In 2019, the Toronto Raptors won their first franchise NBA Finals Championship with Kawahi Leonard plus his teammates leading the way. March Madness contributed to the popularity of College basketball too. Lacrosse is a sport played in America whose origin came from Native Americans. Boxing, soccer, horse racing, skateboarding, rugby, weightlifting, fencing, water polo, rodeo, and other sports are key parts of American culture.

Education

Education in the United States is mostly provided by the government. Private education is usually found in religious groups, private institutions, and some of it is homeschool. Public education is funded by federal, state, and local entities. Public education is mandatory in terms of attendance. High school, middle school, and elementary school contribute so much to develop the lives of the youth. Most public and private schools have elementary, middle, and high schools. Post-secondary education deals with colleges and universities. Community colleges are very popular in our generation, since they are less expensive than public and private four year universities. In the year 2000, there were 76.6 million students enrolled in schools from kindergarten through graduate schools. Of these, 72 percent aged 12 to 17 were judged academically "on track" for their age (enrolled in school at or above grade level). Of those enrolled in compulsory education, 5.2 million (10.4 percent) were attending private schools. Among the country's adult population, over 85 percent have completed high school and 27 percent have received a bachelor's degree or higher. Issues in education deal with teacher’s pay, school suffering in struggling communities, bullying, discipline issues, and other topics. Debates arise around charters, vouchers, and other issues including merit pay. In this time, the budge of education from 2015-16 is $1.3 trillion or 7.2 percent of the GDP. State governments readily mandate standardized tests for K-12 public schools.

Private schools determine their own curriculum and staffing policies. According to a report published by the U.S. News & World Report, of the top ten colleges and universities in the world, eight are American (the other two are Oxford and Cambridge, in the United Kingdom). The US ranks 3rd from the bottom among OECD nations in terms of its poverty gap, and 4th from the bottom in terms of poverty rate. Jonathan Kozol has described these inequalities in K–12 education in "Savage Inequalities and The Shame of a Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America." Making education better is complex. One solution isn’t enough. Multiple solutions are needed like smaller class sizes, diverse teachers from many backgrounds, mentorship, parental involvement, teachers using creative curriculum beyond just teaching to a test, programs addressing bullying, acts addressing student loan debt, and other actions.

Family Structure

Families are diverse in America. It is a lie to assume that healthy families must only be one way. There are many healthy, strong families that are nuclear, blended, single, and other types of families in America. We live in a new era of time. The nuclear family is about two married adults with biological children. Today, single parent families, childless couples, and fused families constitute the majority of American families currently. A person may grow up in a single-parent family, go on to marry and live in childless couple arrangement, then get divorced, live as a single for a couple of years, remarry, have children and live in a nuclear family arrangement. Unique families are common place. Back in 1970, about 40 percent of all American families were nuclear families. That isn’t the case now as single families have increased. We see a postmodern family reality. Single-parent households are households consisting of a single adult (most often a woman) and one or more children. In the single-parent household, one parent typically raises the children with little to no help at all, from the other. This parent is the sole "breadwinner" of the family. Like any family, families in many cases face poverty, educational issues, and other socioeconomic issues. More families rely on two income earners to survive in America.

Another change is the increasing age at which young Americans leave their parental home. Traditionally, a person past "college age" who lived with their parent(s) was viewed negatively, but today it is not uncommon for children to live with their parents until their mid-twenties. This trend can be mostly attributed to rising living costs that are more expensive compared to those in decades past. Thus, many young adults now remain with their parents well past their mid-twenties. This topic was a cover article of TIME magazine in 2005. The real estate markets in large urban centers are very expensive with some monthly rents exceeding $1, 000 a month.  The no-fault divorce revolution began in 1969 in California; New York and South Dakota were the last states to begin allowing no-fault divorce. No-fault divorce on the grounds of "irreconcilable differences" is now available in all states. However, many states have recently required separation periods prior to a formal divorce decree. State law provides for child support where children are involved, and sometimes for alimony. The median length for a marriage in the U.S. today is 11 years with 90% of all divorces being settled out of court. As of 2007, 58% of Americans age 18 and over were married, 6% were widowed, 10% were divorced, and 25% had never been married. Women now work mostly outside the home and receive a majority of bachelor's degrees.

Politics

The United States is the world’s oldest surviving federation. We certainly have a political emergency with the racist Donald Trump telling Congresswomen to leave America if they disagree with him, demonizing the press, using a Muslim ban, slandering peaceful protesters, and showing overt racism in policies plus Tweets. America has a system that deals with representative democracy, but gerrymandering plus racist voter ID laws has suppressed the vote among many Americans. We should have checks and balances defined by the U.S. Constitution. Citizens readily vote for elected officials. America has 50 states, a federal district, five territories, and many uninhabited island possessions. We live in a polarized country with the two major parties of Democrats and Republicans. There are many third parties too from the Libertarian Party to the Green Party. The Democrats were formed in 1824 and Republicans were created in 1854. In political culture, most Republicans are conservative and most Democrats are liberal and centrist.

The Speaker of the House is Nancy Pelosi and the Majority Leader of the Senate is Mitch McConnell. About 40 percent of Americans support Trump while the majority of Americans disagree with the agenda of him. The modern U.S. tax system was progressive for years, and it became less progressive since 1980. America’s economic system is a capitalist mixed economy. It has natural resources and high productivity.  According to the International Monetary Fund, the U.S. GDP of $16.8 trillion constitutes 24% of the gross world product at market exchange rates and over 19% of the gross world product at purchasing power parity (PPP). Back in the day, classical liberalism dealt with limited government and laissez faire economics. Today, American liberalism deals with government involvement in the economy along with being socially liberal. American culture has debated the role of government from the 1700’s to the modern age of 2019. Lobbyists, activists, and citizens all interact or oppose each other. That is why many people disagree with oligarchy, since a strong democracy requires fairness and the defense of democratic rights for all people not just for the few.

Race, Ancestry and Sociology

America has the third largest amount of population of any nation on Earth. China and India have more people. Race has always been an issue that has been part of American culture. When America was birthed, 10 out of the 12 first American Presidents owned slaves. Thomas Jefferson explicitly didn't believe in the intellectual and social equality of black people. With recent events from police brutality to the comments of the President Trump spewing racism against four Congresswomen of color, we have to confront race, class, and sex in order to have a society where justice for all is real (beyond just words). America has almost 330 million people. It once had almost 4 million people back in 1790. White Americans are 73.1 percent of the population. Black Americans and Latino Americans are the largest minority groups in America. Asian Americans and Native Americans make up millions of people in America too. Minorities will be the majority of the population of America by 2044. These demographic changes are real. The United States has a birth rate of 13 per 1,000, which is 5 births below the world average. Its population growth rate is positive at 0.7%, higher than that of many developed nations in fiscal year 2017, over one million immigrants (most of who entered through family reunification) were granted legal residence. Mexico has been the leading source of new residents since the 1965 Immigration Act. China, India, and the Philippines have been in the top four sending countries since the 1990's. As of 2012, approximately 11.4 million residents are undocumented immigrants.

As of 2015, 47% of all immigrants are Hispanic, 26% are Asian, 18% are white and 8% are black human beings. The percentage of immigrants who are Asian is increasing while the percentage of those who are Hispanic is decreasing. From work in the Civil Rights Movement to being inventors, African Americans have been always focused hard to contribute heavily to the culture of America. About 55 percent of African Americans live in the South. There is no modern America without the sacrifice of black Americans period. About 82% of Americans live in urban areas (including the suburbs); about half of those reside in cities with populations over 50,000. The U.S. has numerous clusters of cities known as megaregions, the largest being the Great Lakes Megalopolis followed by the Northeast Megalopolis and Southern California. In 2008, 273 incorporated municipalities had populations over 100,000, nine cities had more than one million residents, and four global cities had over two million (New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston). There are 52 metropolitan areas with populations greater than one million. America is a multiracial, multiethnic nation. So, we have a complex history filled with racism and anti-racism efforts. We have a history of bigotry and heroes fighting bigotry.

Volunteerism

One part of American culture is many Americans are known for charitable work and advocacy. It is no secret that many righteous Americans have worked hard to help the poor, gave bottled water to the victims of the Flint water disaster, and committed to social justice. Groups like Goodwill, the Red Cross, and other organization work day in and day out to help the lives of suffering human beings.

National Holidays

Throughout the year, many Americans observe holidays whether they are religious or secular. Thanksgiving is followed by many people that dealt with colonial history. During that time, people celebrate football, many eat turkey, and others go out to have family reunion. Also, we remember another point. We know of the point. We have to acknowledge the unjust genocide of the Native Americans too. Many people celebrate Christian, Muslim, and Jewish holidays like Christmas, Passover, and Ramadan. Easter and St. Patrick holidays exist with parades and other forms of celebrations. Christmas in America is a federal holiday. Independence Day is found on the Fourth of July to celebrate the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain. Fireworks and parades are common. It is also important to note that America was founded in the promotion of slavery by many evil people. Many early Americans condoned slavery, and other early Americans fought vigilantly to oppose slavery. Likewise, there is the Juneteenth Day that celebrates the end of the Civil War for African Americans. Halloween, Mardi Gras, and other celebrations are very commonplace. Another federal holiday is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s day on the third Monday on January. Labor Day, Memorial Day, Veteran’s Day, President’s Day, and other holidays relate to American culture greatly.

Epilogue (on America)

This historic series about America is complete. I wrote what I envisioned in my mind. I covered the history of Americans of a myriad of backgrounds without sugarcoating American history Yet, the journey of America continues. After 400 years since the 1619 arrival of enslaved Africans to our time in 2019, we have witnessed tons of events from Juneteenth to slavery revolts. For the record, we know of black people in America that existed before 1619, but 1619 was the year of a turning point in American history. Americans of every background have made great contributions in history and culture. America has not lived up to the principles of equality and justice at many occasions, but many Americans (then and now) desire those goals. We have to be honest about America too. America's foundation was birthed by the 2 great crimes of the genocide of the indigenous peoples (and the theft of their lands), and the enslavement of African human beings. Freedom is worth fighting for. That is why progress never comes in the Universe without struggle. Every victory that we achieved from the Voting Rights Act to labor protections transpired by a fight for justice. To defeat evil, we must confront it. I was born in Southeastern Virginia, so I know fully about American society. I am a black American, and I love my Blackness. Americans have traveled into space, built skyscrapers, led progressive social movements for generations, and many of us believe in justice. Resiliency and an earnest to fight for positive change is with the souls of numerous Americans. Ideals are important as they can stir up the soul. We understand that class conscious is important too. The poor and the working class should unite to eliminate economic oppression.

Not to mention that we believe in solutions as well. In other words, neglected communities ought to be invested, our infrastructure need to be funded plus updated to meet 21st century needs (in the midst of massive automation in a growing post industrial economy), and affordable, universal health care should be available to all people irrespective of race, sex, income, creed, or background. America is part of us as our souls relate to the total American experience. The words of Lorraine Hansberry, the courage of Muhammad Ali against the Vietnam War, the flight of the Wright Brothers, and the Americans who helped the victims of Hurricane Katrina are all American stories. America is a combination of good and evil events in one nation. America survived the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, two World Wars, and other social changes. We are unlike any other land in human history. We are the most diverse nation in human history. We have no official language as our diversity is part of our strength. For the record, we shouldn't have an official language either. We have our issues too. HUD being gutted and expensive housing are serious problems (many people and families struggle to get apartments, since tons of people have to work 2 to 3 jobs just to make ends meet). We have a 1968 Housing Act for a reason. America exists as one country being out of many people to become one nation. The goal of us being united under the principles of equality, liberty, and justice is a legitimate one. The problem is that that goal isn't realized yet. We have to recognize our imperfections and willing to criticize policies in America which are wrong in order to make the Dream real. With hope, faith, and action, we will be victorious in establishing the Dream in the end.


By Timothy