But as of mid-2022, votes still count<\/span>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

1)\u00a0 We each need to vote… all of us.<\/b><\/p>\n

2)\u00a0 We also need to defend the voting rights of others as we approach November 8, 2022.<\/b><\/p>\n

3)\u00a0 We need to work for local, state, and national candidates who reflect our values.<\/b><\/p>\n

4)\u00a0 We need to vote out Republicans who are still claiming that Trump won the 2020 election.\u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

5)\u00a0 We need to throw out US Senators who won’t vote to ban assault rifles–who value guns more than children’s lives.\u00a0 We need to elect Senators who will eliminate the filibuster and pass legislation to restore our right to make our own decision about an unplanned pregnancy.<\/b><\/p>\n

Many Black people consider July 4th to be a holiday for White folks only.\u00a0 Their African ancestors were captured, transported, and held in slavery while White Americans celebrated the day their forefathers had declared independence from Great Britain and started fighting for freedom. For nearly one hundred years, Independence Day was a hypocritical mess.\u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

In some ways, July 4 still is a day that highlights unequal levels of rights and freedoms based on race.\u00a0 Kyle J. Howard issued a six-part tweet today pointing out that this year, the historical split-vision still exists.\u00a0 Most whites are celebrating freedom while Blacks are enraged over the police shooting of Jayland Walker in Akron, Ohio, after a mere traffic stop.\u00a0 Jayland was denied the most basic of freedoms–life and liberty–after being chased for a broken tail light.\u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

For the record, I’m not celebrating America’s independence from George III today.\u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

I’m rejoicing that King Donald is no longer our boss, and he may go to jail.\u00a0 I’m grateful that we still have a democracy and that votes here still count.<\/b><\/p>\n

So I bought some decorations and began making cupcakes…\u00a0 John and I are having a party here with friends.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0 In 2022, celebration of the Fourth of July was\u00a0 difficult. 7 people went to a town parade in Highland Park, Illinois, and were shot dead by a sniper with an assault rifle. \u00a035 or so others were shot but survived.\u00a0 Hundreds of others escaped with psychological wounds only. The rest of us tried to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":5914,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[773,774],"ppma_author":[1162],"class_list":{"0":"post-5913","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-womens-rights","8":"tag-celebrating","9":"tag-july"},"yoast_head":"\n