Dear John,
Today, we celebrate Memorial Day and honor those who lost their lives fighting in the military.
Memorial Day has a fraught history. It started as a tradition among former enslaved people, celebrating emancipation and honoring those who fought for it.
Today, it’s too often used as a day to glorify our country’s history of unjust, for-profit wars.
In my family, we’ve always understood the contradiction of this holiday. Thirteen of my family members — all Black men — have served in the military, one of whom never returned home.
All but two of those men served while our family continued to suffer as second class citizens under Jim Crow.
That is, sadly, the history of war in our country — the contradiction of young people of color fighting for an ideal of western freedom abroad that they’ve been continually denied at home.
I join with other military families in mourning the loss of so many service members.
But, on this Memorial Day, I’m also committed to continuing my fight to end unjust wars that pit people of color against people of color and only benefit the predominantly white political class — to pursue freedom based on ballots and not bullets.
Thank you to all who served and to all who made the ultimate sacrifice fighting for our freedom. I hope that together, we can put a stop to for-profit violence and realize the promise of true freedom for all people.
With gratitude,
Imani
Paid for by Oakley for Congress
Oakley for Congress
PO Box 1181
Montclair, NJ 07042
United States
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