4th of July picnic in Rogers, Arkansas, ca 1904

Here in the United States we’re heading into the Fourth of July weekend: one of those holidays where the point is easily lost in the trappings.

Take a moment in your celebrations to remember what we’re celebrating:

“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.”

Picnics and fireworks are nice. Civil rights are better.

Image courtesy of the Missouri State Archives