I’m filled with shame and sorrow today that this anniversary has been co-opted by people hell-bent on establishing a retrograde, racist, and exclusionary vision of what it should be and what its founders intended, and enriching themselves in the process. How I wish this milestone anniversary could have been a time to take stock, to admit to the failures and tragedies of the past as well as the achievements, and begin a process of self-reflection, reconciliation, and restitution with those who have been so badly harmed, as well as looking forward with realism and hope for all people: created equal, with the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.