In a country founded on the illusion that “all men were created equal,” how have we arrived here—again?

At the heart of America’s struggle is the belief that this nation belongs only to those whose identities align with its framers. This mindset has long justified exclusion, erasing the spaces and opportunities that allow for full participation and success. We have needed—and still need—intentional efforts to ensure that those long denied opportunity can finally thrive. The very programs now under attack exist precisely because, for generations, certain communities were deemed undeserving of the rights and privileges freely given to others. Without evidence, it was assumed that those unlike the founders lacked the capacity or capability to achieve, reinforcing barriers rather than dismantling them.

If history allowed us to travel back to the so-called “discovery of the New World” and ask the Indigenous peoples of this land a simple question—“Who are you?”—we would hear a multitude of answers, reflecting the depth and diversity of their nations, cultures, and identities. Yet when European settlers arrived as refugees, fleeing persecution and hardship, their response was not to recognize this diversity but to demand submission. They imposed a new normal, one where Native peoples—those who had been here first—were given three choices: acquiescence, forced removal, or elimination. The historical record is filled with examples of all three. Even when Native peoples were forced to assimilate, they gained almost none of the privileges that came with compliance. Manifest Destiny served as the justification, painting conquest and displacement as an inevitability rather than an injustice.

After the Civil War, Reconstruction briefly provided America with an opportunity to correct its exclusionary practices. Instead, that promise was quickly dismantled by those who refused to accept a multiracial democracy. The resistance to inclusion that undermined Reconstruction is not a relic of the past—it is a recurring pattern. Today, we see yet another backlash against efforts to create just opportunities for all, framed as an attack on the nation’s identity. But the truth remains: there has never been a movement to erase or eliminate “white culture” because that is not what most Americans have ever asked for. The ask has always been simple: for those who were systematically denied a fair shot at the founding of this country to have the same access to prosperity, not as charity, but as a constitutional right.

Now, in an era where the government increasingly suggests there is no longer a need for mandated fairness, we must recognize that America’s strength has always been in its diversity, not uniformity. A nation built on differences cannot thrive if it refuses to embrace them. The ideal of fairness—the real American Dream—demands that we acknowledge the inequities of the past and take active steps to ensure that everyone, regardless of background, has the accommodations necessary to achieve their goals.

Yet, these issues have now transcended race, even as race remains central to the historical injustices that shaped this nation. This is about the human right to exist differently—across identities, backgrounds, and lived experiences—without being targeted by laws that were once enacted to ensure greater protection, only to be dismantled under the modern belief that such protections are unnecessary. But is the existence of these safeguards truly harmful to those who oppose them? Or is this yet another example of America’s deep-seated resistance to evolving into a nation that fully reflects the diversity of the people who now call it home? The so-called “land of the free” is at a crossroads: will it continue to shape itself to accommodate its ever-expanding identity, or will it cling to an exclusionary past under the guise of maintaining tradition?

Why can’t our differences be the beauty we embrace in a way that intricately celebrates what truly makes the U.S., us?