How Race Shadows The Nation's Anniversaries w/ Eddie Glaude Jr. | MR Live

Eddie Glaude Jr. deliberately opens his book with "I do not love this country, never have" to challenge conventional patriotism. This statement serves three purposes: it signals disagreement with James Baldwin's conditional love for America, expresses skepticism towards state idolatry, and reflects his personal experience growing up in Mississippi, where America's racism was explicitly communicated to him.

Glaude explains his opening statement, referencing Baldwin and his childhood experience in Pascagoula where a neighbor used a racial slur against him, leading his parents to work to prevent him from internalizing that message.

Glaude frames milestone anniversaries (centennial, sesquicentennial, bicentennial) as critical junctures where the nation is compelled to narrate its identity. These moments consistently expose the 'divided soul' of America, particularly regarding race, as official celebrations often gloss over or actively suppress the concurrent realities of racial violence and systemic injustice.

Glaude states, "in each of these moments... the contradiction, the divided soul of the nation is in full view." He cites 1876 (Reconstruction's murder), 1926 (Klan's decade), and 1976 (Watergate, Vietnam, Black Power, anti-bussing) as examples.

The 1876 Centennial celebration was a "massive ritual of disremembering." While the nation focused on technological prowess and economic prosperity during the Gilded Age, it actively disappeared the Civil War's causes and the ongoing violence against Black Americans. Frederick Douglass, though invited to the dais, was forbidden to speak, symbolizing the silencing of Black voices during a period of national 'reunion' that solidified Jim Crow.

Glaude notes Grant's speech at the Philadelphia exposition in 1876 omitted the Civil War and Custer's defeat. He recounts Douglass being denied entry and then silenced at the event, despite being the most famous orator, calling it a 'massive ritual of disremembering'.

The 1926 Sesquicentennial occurred amidst the second rise of the Ku Klux Klan, which, beyond its anti-Black agenda, also targeted new European immigrants (Catholics, Jews, Irish, Italians) as 'swarthy white folk.' This period saw the consolidation of Jim Crow, the roots of 'great replacement theory,' and efforts to broaden the definition of 'white American' to include these ethnic groups, creating a larger 'us' against Black people and other 'others.'

Glaude details the Klan's re-emergence in 1915, its anti-clerical stance, and its response to European immigration. He mentions the 1924 Immigration Act, 'basically written by the Klan,' and the Klan's initial approval to hold its convention at the Philadelphia Exposition in 1926.

The 1976 Bicentennial carried the burden of restoring national consensus after the turmoil of the 1960s and early 1970s (Watergate, Vietnam, social movements). It was the first major anniversary with widespread television coverage, leading to a decentralized, corporate-driven celebration. The narrative embraced a broad 'Ellis Island story' to unify 'white ethnics,' but deep divisions persisted, exemplified by anti-busing protests and the iconic photograph of a flag-wielding youth attacking Ted Landsmark in Boston.

Glaude describes the Bicentennial's burden of positing consensus after the 60s/70s upheavals. He cites Lonnie Bunch's observation that it focused on 'white ethnics' and mentions the anti-busing debates and the Stanley Forman photograph.

The current political climate leading up to 2026 mirrors historical patterns of 'redemption' and a 'lost cause.' The MAGA movement, unlike past attempts at consensus, openly rejects the idea of a 'more perfect union' and asserts America as a white republic. This involves a 'second redemption' through actions like gutting voting rights and redrawing districts, and a 'second lost cause' through an assault on historical truth, education, and initiatives like DEI.

Glaude states, "MAGA has no interest whatsoever in... more perfect union talk." He connects this to J.D. Vance's rhetoric and the Claremont Institute's 'post-liberal' ideology. He defines 'second redemption' as gutting civil rights infrastructure and 'second lost cause' as the assault on how we know and tell our story.

Glaude concludes that America cannot simultaneously be a 'beacon of freedom' and a 'white republic.' The MAGA movement has made its choice, openly pursuing a white nationalist project. The critical task for others is to make a clear choice for a beacon of freedom, which necessitates confronting the nation's historical truths, addressing systemic inequalities, and rejecting the notion that freedom is a commodity controlled by white people.

Glaude asserts, "We can't be a beacon of freedom and a white republic at the same time. You just can't do it." He emphasizes that MAGA has made its choice, and 'our task is to make a choice' to leave the idea of a white country to 'history's dustbin'.