Eddie S. Glaude Jr. Reflects on America’s Identity

By: Bill Allen

The American story is often taught as a celebration of freedom, equality and opportunity rooted in the ideals outlined in the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. Yet beneath those promises lies a more complicated history shaped by racial inequality and exclusion.

Those themes were the focus of a May 27 discussion featuring author and Princeton University professor Eddie S. Glaude Jr. at the Free Library of Philadelphia. The event centered on Glaude’s new book, America, U.S.A.: How Race Shadows America’s Anniversaries, and was moderated by U.S. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey.

As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, Glaude challenged audiences to reconsider how the nation’s history has traditionally been told and whose voices have been excluded from that narrative.

“The American story is often told through the perspective of conquerors,” Glaude said during the discussion, noting that Native Americans, Mexicans and African Americans have frequently been treated as secondary figures in the nation’s history.

The conversation explored the contradiction at the center of America’s founding ideals: the pursuit of liberty and self-determination for some while denying those same freedoms to others.

Glaude connected those historical tensions to modern political and cultural divisions surrounding race in America. He referenced the concept of “double consciousness,” introduced by scholar and civil rights activist W.E.B. Du Bois, which describes the struggle of reconciling America’s image as a beacon of freedom with its long history of racial discrimination.

Throughout the evening, speakers reflected on how moments of injustice are often dismissed with statements such as, “This is not who we are,” despite repeated examples throughout American history that reveal deeper systemic issues.

Glaude also highlighted the writings and activism of influential Black leaders, including Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Booker T. Washington, Thurgood Marshall and former President Barack Obama. Their work, he said, documented both the pain and promise of America while pushing the nation closer to its stated ideals of equality and justice.

The discussion emphasized that America’s story is complex and unfinished — shaped by struggle, resilience and competing interpretations of freedom and democracy.

Glaude described the nation’s history as a symphony made up of many voices, experiences and contradictions. While parts of that history have often been ignored or silenced, he argued that understanding the full story is necessary for the country to move forward.

As attendees left the event, the central message remained clear: America cannot fully celebrate its future without honestly confronting its past.