In 2026, America will celebrate its 250th anniversary with great fanfare, pomp and circumstance.
However, given the turn of events over the past year, Americans of color may mark the Fourth of July with mixed emotions.
Consider the perspective of the great orator and abolitionist Frederick Douglass, which he shared during a scathing speech on July 5, 1852, at an event honoring the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
“This Fourth of July is yours, not mine; you may rejoice, I must mourn,” he said.
Douglass, an escaped slave, had a host of reasons for expressing such a sentiment. But that was before America ended slavery. That was before America recognized African Americans as people and not property. That was before grassroots efforts led by people of all races and ages put their lives on the line and ushered in the modern-day Civil Rights Movement, securing equal rights, justice and liberty for all.
However, since the recent presidential election, there has been an unprecedented attack on the rights of Black Americans and America’s most marginalized citizens overall.
Beginning in 2025, a new Trump administration Executive Order ended diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the federal government, rescinding previous orders and emphasizing merit-based hiring. While public opinion remains divided and legal challenges continue, shifts in corporate strategy reflect an abandonment of once-touted DEI goals that ensured fairness and representation.
In addition, while the Voting Rights Act of 1965 has not been repealed, key provisions have been significantly weakened or “gutted” by a series of Supreme Court decisions, which have reduced its effectiveness in protecting minority voting rights.
At the same time, efforts by states to redraw their congressional maps ahead of the 2026 elections continue and have resulted in a significant and highly controversial wave of mid-decade redistricting activity and associated legal challenges. As of December 2025, six states have passed and implemented new congressional maps while at least four other states are either considering or in progress of following similar actions.
These changes are just the tip of the iceberg. But with the midterm elections coming up next fall, African Americans must ignore the many distractions enacted by local, state, and federal officials, register to vote, study the candidates, review the choices on their respective ballots from top to bottom, and vote in November.
The clock is ticking, and unfortunately, time is not on our side.