I’ve been doing deeper research into decolonizing. In the past, I attended Great Plains Action Society’s events related to their counternarrative about the Fourth of July.
Here is an explanation of the core concepts behind the “Fourth of He Lies”.
[NOTE: This graphic is from the year 2021, not today]
[NOTE: This is from a previous year]
On July 4th, stand with Great Plains Action Society, Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, Ní Btháska Stand Collective, Des Moines Black Liberation Movement, Humanize My Hoodie, Revolutionary Action Party, Quad Cities Interfaith, Iowa Coalition for Collective Change, and Des Moines Mutual Aid!
Join us on “Fourth of He Lies” to demand that the Iowa legislators remove whitewashed monuments to white supremacy in Iowa. Organizers will present a petition demanding that all racist, misogynistic, homo/transphobic, whitewashed historical depictions be removed from all state grounds and facilities. These monuments fall into the realm of hate propaganda and make folks feel unwelcome in public spaces. So, we need legislation that removes all monuments, murals, and depictions of white supremacist persons, acts, and ideologies from all Iowa state grounds and state-funded institutions.
Great Plains Action Society
Deconstructing the “Lie” in the Declaration of Independence
“He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.”
— Declaration of Independence
The name “Fourth of He Lies” is a direct and deliberate subversion of “Fourth of July,” intended to immediately signal a rejection of the holiday’s celebratory narrative. The central “lie” that the event targets is embedded within the text of the Declaration of Independence itself.
The Purpose: Countering Whitewashed History
The “Fourth of He Lies” serves as a powerful counter-narrative to what organizers call the “whitewashing” of American history—a sanitized version taught in schools that presents the nation’s founding as heroic while glossing over the violence it entailed. The event aims to force a public acknowledgment of the true costs of American independence.
The key goals of this counter-narrative are:
- Public Education A primary goal is to educate the public and legislators about the violent origins of the United States, ensuring the real causes behind the Declaration of Independence are known and acknowledged.
- Removing Monuments to White Supremacy The protest includes a specific, tangible demand: the removal of all monuments, murals, and other depictions of white supremacy from Iowa’s state grounds and state-funded institutions. Organizers label these symbols as “hate propaganda” that make public spaces feel unwelcoming and unsafe for marginalized communities. This demand seeks to make the state itself stop perpetuating a violent and exclusionary history.
A Vision for a Decolonized Future
The “Fourth of He Lies” is not simply an act of protest against the past; it is part of a broader vision for a decolonized future. The event connects the historical lies of 1776 to the ongoing injustices of the present, which GPAS identifies as stemming from an interlocking system of “colonial-capitalism” and white supremacy.
By bringing together a diverse coalition of Indigenous rights groups, Black liberation movements, environmental organizations, and mutual aid networks, the event demonstrates an intersectional approach to social justice. It argues that the same systems that oppress Indigenous peoples also harm other marginalized communities and the environment. The ultimate goal is to dismantle these systems and build a “regenerative economy” based on Indigenous principles of collective care and right relationship with the land.
unflinching 