It has not always been a voluntary journey
In 1619 , one year before the Mayflower carried the Pilgrims to freedom in Plymouth , a Dutch ship delivered North America ’ s first Africans to slavery in Jamestown . By 1790 , America ’ s first census recorded 697,624 African slaves , nearly 20 percent of the population . By 1860 , the number reached almost 4 million .
The specter of slavery even in its modern form continues to plague society to this day . Let us read these hopeful words by Amanda Gorman :
The Hill We Climb Amanda Gorman
We are striving to forge our union with purpose . To compose a country committed to all cultures , colors , characters , and conditions of man . And so we lift our gaze , not to what stands between us , but what stands before us . We close the divide because we know to put our future first , we must first put our differences aside . We lay down our arms so we can reach out our arms to one another . We seek harm to none and harmony for all . Let the globe , if nothing else , say this is true . That even as we grieved , we grew . That even as we hurt , we hoped . That even as we tired , we tried . That we ’ ll forever be tied together , victorious .
America , you great unfinished symphony , you sent for me . You let me make a difference , a place where even orphan immigrants can leave their fingerprints and rise up
HAMILTON : AN AMERICAN MUSICAL ( LYRICS BY LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA )
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