#4 DLC Freedom for Who?

It’s July 4th, but don’t expect fireworks. Expect facts. Today we confront the lie at the heart of “American freedom.” From land theft to forced labor, from mass incarceration to queer erasure, this country has rationed liberty based on race, gender, and class. We’re talking real history because love for a place means holding it accountable, not covering it in red, white, and denial.Show Notes:

• Michelle Alexander – The New Jim Crow

• Ava DuVernay – 13th (Netflix)

• Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz – An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States

• Frederick Douglass – “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” (1852)

• Equal Justice Initiative: https://eji.org

• ACLU Legislation Tracker: https://www.aclu.org/legislation-tracker

Episode Transcript

(00:05):
Welcome back to So I was Told. Today is July 4th, but don't
expect any fireworks here. Expect facts.
Because while the country celebrates its supposed freedom,
some of us are just trying to survive the aftermath of it.
Today we're diving into the mythof American liberty, Who it was
built for, who it was stolen from, and who's still paying the

(00:27):
price. Let's start with the hard truth.
America didn't give freedom, it negotiated it.
It rationed it, and it still withholds it.
The story of this country isn't 1 of liberty for all.
It's one of selective axis shaped by power, whiteness, and
violence. So today I'm breaking down 5

(00:47):
uncomfortable truths about American history that we can't
afford to ignore. So let's get into it.

(01:08):
#1 Indigenous erasure and land theft.
The idea that colonizers discovered America is wild when
you realize that there were already over 500 sovereign
Indigenous nations here. That includes whole systems of
law, agriculture, trade, and spirituality that existed long

(01:29):
before Europeans washed up with guns and smallpox.
You see, colonization wasn't a passive event.
It wasn't the result of something.
It was intentional, violent theft followed by centuries of
broken treaties, forced relocation, and cultural
erasure. Even today, Indigenous land

(01:51):
rights are ignored in projects like the Dakota Access Pipeline,
and communities are fighting forclean water and basic healthcare
on land that was stolen in the name of expansion.
So let's be clear, just because settlers didn't recognize
Indigenous governance doesn't mean it didn't exist.
Legal ownership didn't start with European paperwork.

(02:14):
It started with being there, stewarding, belonging.
Something an empire can never understand #2 the 13th Amendment
and modern slavery. You've probably heard that the
13th Amendment abolished slavery, but that's only half
true. It ended slavery.
But look at this line here. Quote except as punishment for a

(02:38):
crime. That one clause created the
loophole for mass incarceration,and we've been watching it
exploited ever since. After emancipation, black people
were arrested for loitering for unemployment or even talking
back, and thus forced into laborunder convict leasing systems.

(03:02):
If that sounds familiar, it's because it should.
Today, over 2 million people areincarcerated in the United
States, and many are still doingunpaid or underpaid labor, often
for private corporations. My friends, this is not an
accident. This was all a part of a
blueprint. You see, slavery didn't end, it

(03:24):
just evolved #3 the bombing of Black Wall Street.
In 1921, the Greenwood District in Tulsa, OK, also known as
Black Wall Street was thriving. We're talking black-owned banks,
businesses, doctors, teachers, homes, generational wealth that

(03:45):
was being built in the black community.
And then came mobs filled by white resentment and enabled by
the government. White citizens then bombed the
districts from the air, burned it to the ground, and killed
hundreds. No reparations, no justice, and
for decades, not a single acknowledgement.

(04:10):
This is one of the many stories buried in textbooks.
Why? Because it exposes a truth
America doesn't want to confront.
That is, when black people succeed, white supremacy doesn't
celebrate, it retaliates. And this pattern can be seen not

(04:31):
just in Black culture, but in every subculture that opposes
white imperialistic systems #4 reproductive and queer rights in
crisis. Let's talk about what's
happening right now. In recent years, Roe versus Wade
was overturned, stripping bodilyautonomy from 1,000,000 / 500.

(04:54):
Anti LGBTQ bills have been introduced in the last year
alone. Trans youth are being banned
from healthcare, from bathrooms,and from sports.
Queer and black books are disappearing from school
libraries not by choice, but through law and policy.

(05:15):
So tell me again how this is theland of the free?
You see, freedom isn't just about borders or ballots.
It's about the right to exist safely and fully.
And that right is under attack, especially for people whose
identities challenge the status quo.

(05:35):
Lastly #5 the myth of gratitude.Every time someone challenges
the idea of American freedom, somebody always has to come into
the comments with something likewhile you should be grateful or
while we shouldn't have all these modern advances or these
modern amenities that we have today.
But let me ask you, grateful forwhat?

(05:55):
What are we grateful for? For stolen land?
For exploited labor? For working hours on end and not
even able to earn a living wage?For having to fight tooth and
nail for every right we have, only to see it threatened again?
You see, gratitude without justice is gaslighting.

(06:17):
I don't hate America. We don't hate America the way
you think we do. We just refused to worship a
version of it that never included people like us.
So this year, this July 4th, I'mnot asking you to skip your BBQ.
I'm asking you to tell the truthat the table.
Not just today, but every day. I'm asking you to hold this

(06:40):
country to the standards it claims to uphold.
Because if we're not free, all of us, then none of this is
worth celebrating. If you want to take action
today, start by learning more. Follow Indigenous creators.
Support Black educators. Donate to organizations
protecting queer and trans youth.

(07:00):
And if you're ready to go deeper, I definitely think you
should check out the General Strike US on Instagram to
connect with people organizing for systemic change.
This is one of the easiest ways that you can participate by
promising to go on strike once the proper numbers are reached.
You see, we don't need more fireworks.
We need fire in our conviction. So happy Independence Day, and

(07:25):
we'll see you next time.