1. United States
2. Kan.
3. Letter

Fireworks are illegal in Olathe. Historically, that hasn’t really stopped anyone. Kids are usually out in my neighborhood shooting off the small fireworks during the day as families gather for cookouts. Then the big fireworks start after dark. I live in a neighborhood with some immigrant families, most probably brought here by railway jobs. It’s normally a very quiet and safe neighborhood. I can get a package delivered while I’m gone and it can literally sit on my porch for a week. Kids safely walk to the school on the next block or to where the bus picks them up. But, last night when I realized I wasn’t hearing the number of fireworks I usually do. I realized that this neighborhood isn’t safe anymore for my neighbors of color. They can’t risk shooting off fireworks or even having a big gathering for fear of someone calling the authorities and having their family member and friends shipped off to God knows where, where our government will treat them like vermin for daring to chase the American dream while being anything other than white and rich. This holiday is supposed to be about celebrating freedom, opportunity, the end to rule by a mercurial king and the progress America has been working towards for the last 250 years. Instead we have unprecedented attacks on civil liberties, concentration camps, blatant corruption, a celebration of ignorance rather than embracing education and science, a war of choice, a government that kills people in boats and an economy teetering on the edge as job numbers fall and cost of living rises. We have to do better.