The system was broken from the start.

The Declaration of Independence was a document that changed the world forever. It represented a group of people who were no longer willing to live under the oppression and tyranny of an uncaring and cruel monarchy, which imposed burdensome laws and on it’s colonies and left them with no voice.

After years of not being heard, early Americans had enough. They started by protesting and rioting, and when England ignored them, America declared war and fought for freedom.

When the war was finally won, after fighting so hard and so long, the Founding Fathers defined what they believed America was all about. They declared their independence from England, and at the same time birthed a nation.

“…We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness…”

Self-evident is an interesting word. It implies an indisputable objectivity. The truth laid forth is obvious and can’t be argued with.

Equal. Rights. Life. Liberty. Happiness. ALL.

These words are very intentional and purposeful. They were spoken out of the pain, anger, desperation and determination of people who had experienced oppression and risen above it. They were choosing to begin anew.

The unfortunate reality of this intentionality is the broader context in which these words were written.

A system is defined as “an organized set of doctrines, ideas, or principles usually intended to explain the arrangement or working of a systematic whole.” (1)

The doctrines, ideas and principles that defined America — the system that was put in place — were grossly flawed. These flaws have caused — and continue to cause — an incalculable amount of pain and suffering.

41 of 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence owned slaves (2). The beautiful words that we love so much, that define the fabric of our society, were written and approved with the assumption that they did not apply to Black people.

Despite the sacrifice of those who founded our country, people of color and Black people in particular, have been forced to live under the oppression and tyranny of a system built upon the principles of freedom which explicitly excluded them and left them with no voice!

So what is to be done?

Our system needs to be aggressively assessed and intentionally redesigned. We need to admit that there is a problem in our country, and not just an isolated problem with a few corrupt individuals; there is a problem with the constructs themselves: policies, laws, institutions.

This starts with each of us owning up to the fact that in one way or another we have been complicit in supporting this system. It has influenced us — knowingly or not — to have thoughts, ideas, perceptions and even take actions that reinforce the inequality in our country.

White people, we need to listen and learn. We need to commit to humility and take ownership of our part in the bigger picture. If we fail to do this, we are committing to the system as it stands and affirming that some people are created equal, but not ALL.