When talking heads try to define what it means to be an American with their endless flag waving , fireworks, and angry cries; I calmly lift a steady gaze. With a firm voice, I say clearly, “I too am America.”

My people were the first to walk these woodland trails until the trail turned to tears. But we are still here. My people came on the first boats to find freedom to worship as they chose and were content until religion was turned into a tool of power once again. In every age there are people who use dogma for control, but we still seek the path of simple faith and resist the manipulation of those who would subvert it for gain. We still obey the God who commands us to love one another, care for the poor, take care of widows and orphans, and welcome the immigrant.

My people fought each other in a bloody civil war. They bled over the right for all men to be free. They have been racists and abolitionists. My people fought in foreign lands to fend off dictatorships and prevent genocide. They served with valor. We are still here serving.

My people have been the oppressors and the oppressed. Dirt farmers, tenants, slave owners, preachers, miners, moonshiners, factory workers, janitors, housemaids, illiterate dropouts, collegiate scholars, country bumpkins, and city slickers all bound up together in a history that is complex and teeming with flaws and missteps. But we are still here working hard, dealing with adversity, and trying to find the best way forward in a messy world.

I too am America. We have a proud history of progress. But that history is meaningless if we can’t be honest about what that history cost. My people suffered and they also caused suffering. Land taken. Land gained. Rights unevenly applied. My people have criticized, protested, and claimed a variety of political affiliations, Our positions drawn and redrawn as we imagined a better future, one struggle at a time. We haven’t always been right. But we are here seeking, learning and adapting.

I too am America and will not be reduced to a single vision of what it means to be an American. My heritage is that of many diverse voices. And I will lift my voice for all of those who came before and those that will come after. The diverse, beautiful, fully human, often flawed, people trying to make their way in the history of this democratic republic are not forgotten. We are still here stronger for the struggles and diverse backgrounds. I too am America and so are you. “We the people” has room enough for us all.