The revered words that formed a new nation were spoken aloud Wednesday, July 8, at the Hall of Mayors inside City Hall, where hundreds gathered for the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence in Memphis to commemorate America’s 250th anniversary.
The commemoration was part of a nationwide initiative marking the first public reading of America’s founding documents in Philadelphia in 1776. Organized locally by Paula Casey, co-founder of the Memphis Women’s Political Caucus, who delivered the opening remarks, the program featured prominent community members who took turns reading portions of the Declaration of Independence in front of an audience of elected officials, civic leaders and residents.
We are reading into our history,” said Mayor Paul Young, who then began reading the declaration’s historic introduction.”In Congress, July 4, 1776 … “
Young also read the opening lines of the document’s most recognizable paragraph.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,” he read, “that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
The audience quietly listened, while surrounded by portraits of former mayors spanning nearly two centuries of the city’s history, beginning with Marcus B. Winchester, who took office in 1827.
Memphis City Council member Jerri Green, Shelby County District Attorney General Steve Mulroy, State Rep. Karen Camper, State Rep. Gabby Salinas, Wayne Dowdy, senior manager for the Memphis Public Library’s history department, and city and business leaders Robin Jones, Dottie Jones and Jee Vahn Knight also read passages from the landmark charter of individual rights.
The ceremony also acknowledged the gap between the guiding ideals of the Declaration of Independence and the ongoing struggle to extend the promise of liberty to all Americans, incorporating readings from the Declaration of Sentiments, written by 19th-century suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton for the nation’s first Women’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848. Stanton intentionally modeled her document after the Declaration of Independence, broadening its principles to include women, who did not have the right to vote, own property or hold public office.
Peg Watkins, a member of the League of Women Voters, reflected on the continued relevance of the founders’ declaration.
“Maybe everyone should read the Declaration of Independence again to remember what it says,” said Watkins. “I think it should be written in bold every day on the front of newspapers to keep us reminded of who we are as a country.”
For Salinas, reading the declaration carried historical significance and the need for introspection.
“It was very powerful, very timely,” she said. “It seems like in some way we are kind of losing our voting power. I struggle like most people with suffrage and celebrating. I have mixed emotions, especially being an immigrant, as well. But it’s part of our history, even though we know that not everyone got the right to vote.”
Salinas pointed to Memphians in history who fought to expand fundamental freedoms in America, such as journalist and civil rights activist Ida B. Wells, who challenged the women’s suffrage movement to confront racial inequality.
“Ida B. Wells was a big voice, saying, ‘You are asking me to put my race aside for my gender, and I can’t do that,'” said Salinas. “But I do think it (the suffragist movement) needs to be acknowledged, because it was a stepping stone to the next step.”
Salinas also reflected on Tennessee’s role in the nation’s continuing pursuit of justice for all.
“I am also here to celebrate, because I don’t care what anybody says. Tennessee has shaped our entire country,” she said. “We continue to be at the edge of the fight for justice for our country.”
By the end of the evening, the Declaration of Independence and the Declaration of Sentiments were read in their entirety. Audience members, many representing Memphis civic organizations and institutions, lingered afterward to contemplate the city’s past, present and future in a space that chronicles nearly 200 years of its history as the nation commemorates its sometimes turbulent 250-year journey.
