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I share my birthday with the signing of the Declaration of Independence, July 4th.

Fireworks and flags light the sky,

but for me…
it’s always been more complicated than that.

See, I was born on the most controversial holiday

for my people,

a day that screams freedom
in a country that once caged my ancestors’ names.

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And I used to wonder...
why me?
Why that day?
Why celebrate freedom
That never included the ones who look like me?

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But through years of living,
of learning,
of unlearning,
I came to understand, 

that maybe,

just maybe,
my birth on that day was no accident.

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