FIYAH Cracker Run 250
ERA of… WTF… Joy and Resistance
Happy 250th, 'Merica. Today is the 7th annual BGR Fiyah Cracker Run at Castle Island — the day we show up at 6 a.m. and get our movement on before the day's celebrations begin.
This year is different. I was two years old when the 200th celebration happened in 1976. From the videos and news reels I've seen, there seemed to be more joy, celebration, and unity. This year, "celebration" feels like the wrong word. Survival, fight, perseverance, injustice, racism, fascism — those are the words that come to mind.
The Supreme Court ruled 5–4 in favor of birthright citizenship, which is already in the Constitution. Why wasn't it 9–0? There's Freedom 250 and America 250 — one by Trump, one by the people. The Department of Education has been dismantled. Voting rights and civil rights — the rights so many people fought, died, and sacrificed for so America could live up to her promise — hang by a thread. She still hasn't kept that promise.
I saw somewhere on Facebook that someone said: progress is being able to sit in a different seat, but freedom is being able to breathe the air. Or something like that.
On the 4th of July, Patriot Front, a white nationalist group, marched in D.C. — all 400 of them, faces covered. The President said nothing. There's a picture of a Black woman on the Metro surrounded by them. I can only imagine the terror she must have felt. This is the 4th of July.
Meanwhile, the World Cup is in the U.S., and people from all over the world are celebrating the diversity and inclusion of so many nations and ethnicities. ICE kidnapped over 1,000 people this past weekend. World Cup players have not been treated fairly. This is where we are in America. How can there be a celebration?
In 1852, Frederick Douglass gave his famous speech, "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?" His words still hold true, 174 years later. And yet, here we are.
Today, I ran with my community of Black women and men. We celebrated each other — our resistance, our creativity — and reflected on our ancestors and this country. I showed up at 5:32 to help my co-ambassador set up. I wore my red Yellowstone hat (the national parks should be kept the way they are), my white "Selma to Montgomery" 51st-anniversary shirt with Dr. King and John Lewis on it, and my blue running tights.
As people slowly started to show up, it was good to see the ladies and guys. I had no idea about mileage — wasn't sure if I'd run, walk, or both. It was a pleasure to walk with Sergio and Tyler from BMR. They had their own run at 7:30, but the men came out to support before they had to go. The three of us — Tyler, Sergio, and I — had the best conversation, walking and talking. It was good to get a generational conversation going: Gen Z, Millennial, and Gen X. One time around the island was two miles. After a break, they left, and I ran/walked the island again — four miles total on the 4th.
That was the highlight of the day. The happy of the day. Miles, community, and smiles.
