The United States of America is celebrating its 250th anniversary this week.  There will be parades and fireworks and lots of speeches. But does this holiday mean the same thing to African Americans as it does to other Americans? 

Vincent Hutchings is a political science professor at the University of Michigan.  WDET’s Jerome Vaughn asked him about the meaning of “Independence Day” for the country’s Black citizens.

Hutchings says the holiday doesn’t mean the same for whites as it does for Black Americans because of their different experiences over the last 250 years.  He says, for example, that Black people were largely enslaved for the first 80-plus years of the country.

“The truth of the matter is that the country that we think of today as the United States of America, from the vantage point of most African-Americans doesn’t actually start until 1865, not 1776.”

Hutchings says there has been a disparity between the lived experiences of most White Americans and most Black Americans throughout the history of the country.  And he says that continues to be the case as demonstrated by a number of metrics today.

“On multiple dimensions from life expectancy to maternal health to infant mortality to unemployment to poverty, to the racial wealth gap and various other outcomes, Black Americans, on average are living in very different circumstances.  And it’s not by accident.”

Hutchings says the facts are not in dispute, but the question to be asked is why is that the case. He says, perhaps, many Black Americans will be celebrating their endurance and their ability to survive during the country’s history.

When people don’t feel welcomed in a space, they create their own. In 1984, a third space came to life on 7 Mile and Woodward, that was Club Heaven. Decades later, the legacy of the community continues to thrive.

This month, in celebration of Pride, The Love Building is hosting a LOVE@Nite session called “A Place Called Heaven.” 

The gathering will center Black queer life through storytelling, music, and community connections, and a look back at more than 30 years of history.

The Metro spoke with Chris “Inpaq” Sutton, director of the film “Heaven In Detroit” and broadcast studio manager for LGBT Detroit, alongside Kwaku Osei-Bonsu, project manager at the LOVE Building. 

They talked about the impact of Detroit’s Black queer community, explored the need for safe physical spaces, and how their partnerships honors those who live their truths.

Hear the full conversation using the media player above.

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