America is a special place. It’s one of the only countries where the term “patriot” can be used to describe those who respect democracy or a hate group. A place where political leaders jokingly refer to the “good ole days” as time when over 15% of the population was not legally considered human. A nation founded on the principles of liberty and justice for… all? The great country that is the leader of the free world. Yet, Lady Liberty just can’t seem to shine bright enough to provide justice for all. I suppose this beautiful country is like a beauty queen, with the eating disorder.

I am a patriot, the one who respects democracy, believes in the words of the pledge and loves the American Flag. I am American. I, too, love America. Its not well portrayed that Black people love their country. But we do. We, along with many other immigrants of color, have been the cornerstone of America. The wealth amassed here, the beauty created here and the culture defined here are very much products of Black hands, Black minds, Black lives. Yet somehow, there is a very public, diabolical struggle, about whether Black Americans are significant enough to matter. I am not at all referring to an organized group, but the concept of life and significance. Our country is literally in a debate on whether a Black person’s life is relevant. Scary.

Lately I’ve seen the American flag flown to represent an America of White Supremacy. The KKK waves the Red, White and Blue along with the Proud Boys, Aryan Nation, Alt Right, and The Order. But how did this flag become anti-the people who built the country? America has been bleeding the red blood of Black Americans since the 1600s. The south literally profited off Black sweat watering crops to life. And yet Blacks sing a song of the Blues- originating in the 1800’s from slave songs. Black people in America are the red, white and blue of Old Glory. We, too, love America. We, too, believed in the pledge of Allegiance.

“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

Don’t mistake those who protest on knee of the national anthem as unpatriotic. They are the opposite. They are patriots devastated by injustice and racism. They are tax paying citizens, military serving veterans and law enforcement working servants. I refuse to allow “patriots” that stand for White Supremacy and hate to claim what they don’t own. They do not own America. And they cannot rightly divide it. She was purchased by those who worked her soil in the south, her factories in the North and survived only to be told they are subhuman.

The flag of our nation is for everyone. We can coexists. The country is big enough for all of us to live peacefully, like real adults. It’s time for our nation to unify in the basics of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I’m ready to wave my flag. Not because America has been true to herself, but because I have hope that America can be a better democracy than it is. Let’s reclaim the flag, and the word patriot to represent a nation that is under God, indivisible for liberty and justice for all.