American Tradition

Hey friends,

I’m coming off a weekend with my extended family. We laughed, ate comforting food, gawked at how big the kids are getting and how quickly the summer was going.

The timing could not have been better. I am still angry about the events of the Supreme Court rulings last week, am always angry about the ways this country is HARD on Black people — the ways it tries to keep us down by any means necessary, with expressions of racism twisting and evolving and shape shifting and destroying things my ancestors have fought for. At this point in history, and on this day in particular, it’s important to be clear eyed about this American tradition.

When people think about traditions, I imagine it’s usually positive. Eating your favorite meal on your birthday or pancakes on Sunday, stuff like that.

Annual traditions - birthdays or anniversaries - give us a chance to take stock of where we’ve been, where we are, and where we want to go. But what do we do with a country hell bent on forbidding the learning of where we’ve been, lying about where we are, and promoting a vision for a future that looks remarkably similar to its past? What do we do when those around us are waving their flags, oblivious of the tradition of hypocrisy our country was founded on and that continues to this day?

I think we stay honest. We commit to telling the truth. We stay the course of pursuing justice.

My friend Jenny's mom told her that over the many years of marriage there were some wedding anniversaries she and Jenny's dad celebrated, and others they acknowledged. That resonated with me - the ebbs and flows of any relationship. I've held that wisdom close ever since.

For many of us, today is not celebration but more of an acknowledgment. An acknowledgement that the values of freedom and Justice are buried in America’s lexicon but have yet to rise into fruition for all of its citizens. This acknowledgment doesn't undermine our commitment. It just means we are still waiting to be called beautiful, we are still waiting for the good times to come. We are still waiting to celebrate.

We are still waiting. And we are still here.

A FEW MORE THINGS FOR YOU THIS WEEK…

Patreon Troublemakers - be sure to save the date for our next Troublemaker’s meeting on Thursday, July 20. Not a patreon member yet? You are welcome to join if you are looking for a bit more community. Plus you’ll receive a weekly patreon only podcast and access to our Troublemaker’s meetings.

If you want my thoughts on the Affirmative Action ruling last week, I did an Instagram live. You can watch it here.

“When I was a child, my dad always flew a flag in our front yard. Our house is on a corner lot, and in the front yard right in the corner was this — I couldn’t tell you how tall it was. It always seemed really garishly tall to me at the time. There was this very tall aluminum flagpole. My parents didn’t make a lot of money, so our house always had paint chipping, and there was always something about the house that was in disarray. You know, the grass was looking disheveled or the railing on the stairs was falling off, but the flag was always pristine. As soon as it started to show even the slightest tatter, my dad would replace the flag with a fresh new flag. He would never allow a tattered flag to fly. And I didn’t understand it. I didn’t know other black kids whose parents were flying a flag in their front yard… this big, pristine American flag flying in the front of our yard was deeply embarrassing to me. And I didn’t understand why he would feel that much love for a country that clearly did not love him.” - Nikole Hannah-Jones in her incredible 1619 Project podcast episode “The Fight for a True Democracy.”

A WORD

Stay wild and holy and FREE.

Austin