Many lawmakers marked Independence Day with patriotic messages or at the very least positive messages. But not Maxine Waters and Cori Bush, Democratic Representatives.
Two progressive firebrands attacked the nation’s slavery history and lamented the current political climate in Sunday Tweets. Ms. Bush declared that “Black people are still not free.”
“When they say that the 4th of July is about American freedom, remember this: the freedom they’re referring to is for white people,” tweeted Ms. Bush, a first-term representative from Missouri. “This land is stolen land and Black people still aren’t free.”
Ms. Waters, a California veteran lawmaker, criticized the Declaration of Independence statement that “all men were created equal.”
“July 4th… & so, the Declaration of Independence says all men are created equal. Equal to what? What men? Only white men? Isn’t it something that they wrote this in 1776 when African Americans were enslaved? They weren’t thinking about us then, but we’re thinking about us now!” she tweeted.
Ms. Waters also slammed recently enacted election laws, saying that “17 states have enacted voter suppression laws” and listed the names of five Black people killed by police, including George Floyd.
“Need I say more? #July4,” she concluded.
