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National Public Radio (NPR) has announced that it is breaking its longstanding July 4th tradition of reading the Declaration of Independence to discuss “what equality means” instead.
For the past 33 years on NPR’s “Morning Edition,” NPR staff have celebrated America’s birthday by reading the founding document. However, co-host Leila Fadel announced on Twitter that this year they’re doing away with that tradition to analyze what Thomas Jefferson meant by “all men are created equal.”
NEW YORK, NY – JULY 04: Macy’s 43rd Annual 4th of July Fireworks on July 4, 2019 in New York City. ((Photo by Gotham/WireImage))
What followed was an 11-minute discussion between two historians and host Steve Inskeep about the steps Americans have taken in the fight for equal rights for all men and women in this country.
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In the show, the NPR host tied the fight for equality to recent Supreme Court decisions such as Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
“And many of our debates this July 4th turn to what equality means. What voting rules really give equal access to the ballot. Do abortion laws give women equal control over their bodies? At what point is a fetus entitled to equal rights? Inskip asked.
Without elaborating, Inskip said Republicans wanted “unequal voting” and linked the idea to the “global movement toward authoritarian rule.”
“For some people, equality is not fashionable. Some politically progressive people prefer the term “justice”. Some Republicans in Texas and Colorado called for tie-breaking voting, giving more weight to conservative voters. The global movement toward authoritarian rule opposes equality by arguing that some people are more equal than others,” the NPR host said.
Protesters march and gather near the state capitol after the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in Austin, Texas. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is being sued by health care providers for allegedly threatening to prosecute abortion providers. (AP)
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The broadcast ended on a hopeful note, with historian Annette Gordon-Reid stating that “many more people in the country” had “embraced” the principle that all men are created equal.
However, NPR promoted the idea that equal rights were under attack on Twitter.
Last year, NPR reluctantly retained the traditional reading of the declaration, but denounced the document as containing “flaws and deep-seated hypocrisy.”
The media suggested at the time that the 2020 riots surrounding the death of George Floyd had tarnished how we should view the Declaration.
This vintage image shows the signing of the Declaration of Independence. (iStock)
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“But after last summer’s protests and our national reckoning with race, the words in the document appear different. He famously stated that ‘all men are created equal,’ even though women, enslaved people and the indigenous people of America were not considered equal at the time,” according to an article accompanying the Independence Day Morning Edition.
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Christine Parks is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to kristine.parks@fox.com.
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