As this country prepares to celebrate 250 years of “freedom,” I want many Americans whose families arrived generations after the founding to recognize an important part of our history. Not every community experienced those 250 years in the same way.
Many of the people who were here at the nation’s founding were denied the right to vote, own property freely, access financial institutions, participate equally in government, or enjoy the full protections of the law. Those rights were won only after generations of struggle, and many continue to face challenges today.
As we reflect on America’s history, we should also acknowledge that, for much of it, political power, economic opportunity, and legal protections were concentrated in the hands of a narrow segment of society. We continue to see efforts that many believe would move the country backward by limiting opportunity, restricting rights, and preserving unequal access to wealth and power.
Too often, the labor of some has created prosperity that others have accumulated, only for those same people to claim that anyone who struggles simply is not working hard enough. That narrative ignores the role that history, law, and unequal access have played in shaping opportunity across generations.
So, happy 250th birthday, America. May this anniversary be more than a celebration of our founding. May it also be a reminder that the promise of liberty and justice has never been fully realized for everyone, and that the work of making this nation live up to its founding ideals continues.
@CBSNews@HillaryClinton is wrong. Democrats made a mistake pushing him out. He passed the most progressive bills any democrat president has ever passed. Democrats should have stood with him . That’s the problem with democrats. They always 💩on each other.