Black Lives Matter, Native Lives Matter
[This is another essay I wrote as part of my current coursework. It builds on the prior essay, "Who am I, What am I?"] “Black Lives Matter” is an important phrase. Some people argue it is a ridiculous phrase because, they say, all lives matter. Yes all lives matter, but “Black Lives Matter” is important because when the Declaration of Independence was written, Black lives (and Native lives) were not included within “... all men are created equal;” the Constitution went on to count slaves as three-fifths of a person. When the Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892, nearly three decades after the Civil War, Black lives (and Native lives) were not included within “...liberty and justice for all .” I argue that Native Americans likewise have had, and continue to have, a tortuous relationship as citizens of a sovereign nation versus citizens of the United States. A significant difference ...