Jasmine Crockett’s July 4th Message Raises Flags

Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a Texas Democrat, said Friday that the United States owes “everything” to black women, arguing that their contributions should be recognized as part of any Independence Day celebration.

Crockett made the comments during Essence’s Festival of Culture, where she said Americans should use the Fourth of July to reflect on the role black women have played in shaping the country.

“When it comes to answering the question of what America owes black women, the answer is everything,” Crockett said.

She pointed to the history of slavery, the labor of black women, and their continued role in American politics, particularly within the Democratic Party.

“When we think about the sacrifices that black women have made from the moment that we were stolen from our homelands and transported into this country, to the fact that black women continue to stand as the backbones, specifically of the Democratic Party, we know that black women are always the ones that are doing the labor,” Crockett said. “But we are also the ones that are always the first targets of any harm.”

She then urged Americans to honor black women on Independence Day.

“So, this Fourth of July, I say celebrate a black woman that you know, because whether it’s an invention that she made, or whether it’s the very democracy that still hangs by a thread right now, there is a black woman to thank for her contributions,” Crockett added.

There is no serious dispute that black women have played a major role in American history. Figures such as Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Ida B. Wells, Rosa Parks, and countless lesser-known women helped shape the country through abolitionism, civil rights activism, journalism, education, organizing, and public service.

But Crockett’s sweeping claim also reflects the kind of rhetoric that has made her one of the more polarizing voices in the Democratic Party. Saying that America owes “everything” to any one group may land well with a friendly audience, but it risks reducing a complicated national story into a political slogan. The United States was shaped by many people, across many backgrounds, including black women whose contributions were often ignored or deliberately erased.