We celebrate…
· The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to Abolish Slavery
· The Civil Rights Act of 1866 that granted citizenship and the same rights enjoyed by white citizens to all male persons in the U.S. without distinction of race or color, or previous condition of slavery or involuntary servitude.”
· The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: to extend liberties and rights granted by the Bill of Rights to former slaves
· The 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution Voting Rights granting African American men the right to vote. While simultaneously implementing the first Jim Crow segregation law
· The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution “guarantees all American women the right to vote.”
· Equal Pay Act of 1963 prohibiting sex-based pay differentials on jobs
· Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibiting discrimination in public places, provided for the integration of schools and other public facilities and made employment discrimination illegal
· Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawing the discriminatory voting practices adopted in many southern states after the Civil War
· Civil Rights Act of 1991 adding provisions to Title VII protections, including right to jury trial
However, I ask you sisters and brothers. What is freedom?
While we seemingly gained many wins, the New Jim Crow era was born.
discrimination in employment,
discrimination in housing,
discrimination in access to education and public benefits
labeled felon for minor drug crime
These sufferings came at the expense of us all and the invisible punishment that often goes unnoticed rooted in the prison industrial complex and profit seeking slave masters of this era where the killing of black people has become the norm.
We cannot stop here, we must continue to place the blood of lives lost on the hands of our nation until freedoms truly rings. I encourage you today as we celebrate to continue crying loud and sparing not the systems of racial injustice that exist in this world. Exercise your right to vote and be counted.
Until freedom truly rings we shall place the blood of the oppressed on the doors of our nation.
Until all of us are free, none of us are free. We demand reparation!
I give all the Glory to God who has paved the way this far and will continue to elevate the voices of @God . All things are possible through Christ Jesus!