Charleston shows nation how to observe Independence Day

Those who have studied the struggle of our nation’s founders to deal with the bane of slavery in our Declaration of Independence realize the reason for its fatal flaw.

Since unanimity among all 13 of the colonies was required, we wouldn’t have a new nation if the strong voices of eliminating the scourge had not given way to their Southern colleagues.

The consequence would be another 89 years before the practice of owning other people would finally end in our country and it would involve a bloody conflict that took the lives of more than 620,000 Americans to bring about that result.

We are reminded that the first cannon shots of the Civil War were fired on the garrison at Fort Sumter from the shores of Charleston Harbor.

This year, the people of Charleston have already demonstrated how our Independence Day should be celebrated and added new emphasis to the most important promise in our Declaration.

“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.”

The tragic loss of nine innocent fellow countrymen and women at the historic “Mother Emanuel” AME Church, founded 45 years before the Civil War, could have resulted in another violent scene and further trauma in our nation’s struggle to finally end the racial strife that seems determined to divide us.

Instead we have witnessed a demonstration of unity among people of many colors, many faiths and many ethnicities like none other in recent experience.

There’s a social media posting of a Charleston scene that has drawn remarkable supportive response from tens of thousands of people across the country.

It comes with a photograph of a hugely diverse Charleston crowd standing and applauding. They had gathered in support of the family and friends of the victims of the deadly act of a deranged murderer bent on killing people because they were black.

The caption with the picture reads, “Guy who killed 9 black people in Charleston church said he wanted to start a ‘race war.’” Then in big type it continues, “It Didn’t Work.”

Next we witnessed a gathering of an estimated 15,000 Charleston-area people who took to the streets in a show of solidarity and ultimately formed a two-mile-long line crossing the bridge between the town of Mount Pleasant and Charleston.

An Instagram posting described the scene, “We came together, and not just us. People from … hundreds of miles away. They came to help. Other states held vigils and rang church bells to honor the Emanuel 9. Citizens in countries on the other side of the world … were commenting on every online post they could find to tell those people they were loved.”

Our community formed a diverse crowd of its own at one such vigil at UT Arlington’s College Park Center. The occasion was inspired by pastors and ministers across the city. Mount Olive Church Pastor James Thompson brought the room to its feet with a message of hope and “oneness.”

My wife was born in Charleston. Family members there have been communicating a message of “Charleston Strong” — a time of healing, a time of love for fellow citizens without regard to skin color or anything else that would separate the people of that proud American city.

If you are looking for new meaning in celebrating the Fourth of July in a few days, the people of Charleston have shown the way.

Richard Greene is a former Arlington mayor and served as an appointee of President George W. Bush as regional administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency. mayorgreene@mayorgreene.com

This story was originally published June 26, 2015 at 7:52 PM with the headline "Charleston shows nation how to observe Independence Day."