Uploaded July 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
🇺🇸 The 4th of July Has Always Meant Something Different to Me…But Right Now, It Hits Way Harder!
As a Black woman, I’ve never celebrated this day as “Independence Day.” It’s always been about family, food, music, joy where we can find it, but not about freedom. Not in a country that wrote us out of that story from the beginning.
And in 2025, that truth is louder than ever.
With Trumpism back in full force, we are watching rights, protections, and dignity get stripped away in real time. But let’s stop pretending this only lives in Washington. That same elitism and disregard for human need is thriving right here in Evanston.
Look at the pattern:
🟥 Trump slashed federal programs and prioritized the wealthy.
🟥 Daniel Biss voted to slash retiree healthcare in 2012 (SB1313), ripping care from families.
🟥 As mayor, Biss continues that trend by undermining the Evanston Property Tax & Rent Circuit Breaker - a lifeline not just for seniors, but for anyone struggling to keep up with skyrocketing taxes and rent.
City staff, under City Manager Luke Stowe, have refused to help move the program forward. No data collection. No research support. No follow-through. Why? Ask yourself who benefits when help is delayed…or denied.
Some residents have quietly questioned Stowe’s political leanings. And while I speak carefully here, those concerns become harder to ignore when you look at the obstruction happening on his watch.
Trump. Biss. Stowe.
Different roles. Same values.
Wealth over people. Power over justice. Control over community.
And this isn’t just about housing policy - it’s about democracy itself.
In Evanston’s 2nd Ward, Councilmember Krissie Harris stripped her own constituents of their right to a public process when she bypassed the Land Use Commission and helped push through another fast food chain at Dempster & Dodge - despite hundreds of residents calling for healthier options and support for local Black-owned businesses. That corner has long contributed to health disparities, and residents made it clear: they wanted a say in what goes there.
This wasn’t a small issue. It’s about health. It’s about community input.
But instead of listening, the Biss Administration cut the people out of the conversation completely.
When Councilmember Clare Kelly tried to speak up for the people and raise questions on record, Mayor Biss shut her down mid-sentence. You can watch it on video. That’s not transparency. That’s control.
And what happened to Nancy Floy is even more disturbing.
Nancy, founder of Heartwood Center, was harassed and intimidated by a man who walked into her business, refused to give his name, and said he was sent by “multiple people from city staff” because she opposed the Popeye’s deal.
She filed a police report.
Krissie Harris admitted to sending the man - without warning Nancy or anyone at Heartwood. And yet not a single media outlet has covered it. Only here.
Biss and Stowe continue to withhold the full Public Works investigation report, despite serious allegations raised by employees about mistreatment, retaliation, and unsafe working conditions. If there’s nothing to hide, why not release it? What kind of leadership ignores potential injustice within its own departments - especially when Black workers are at the center of those concerns?
That’s what power protecting itself looks like.
The truth is, if the people who voted for Biss and the people who voted for Trump had actually paid attention to their documented records and not just their speeches, they would have built a list of reasons not to give men like this power.
Biss gave red flag after red flag, clear as day. And Trump? Goodness gracious.
And so… here we are.
So no, I don’t celebrate the 4th of July for what this country claims to be.
I honor those still fighting for what it could be.
And that fight isn’t over. The Circuit Breaker Program is headed back to the Budget & Finance Committee, and we must show up for it. This is for the seniors, the working families, the single parents, and every resident just trying to hold on.
An appeal is in motion, thanks to the courage and persistence of community advocates like Nancy Floy, regarding the Dempster & Dodge Popeye’s situation.
If we don’t demand better - we’ll keep getting worse.
📌 Save this post. Share it. Stay alert.
The pattern is real. The cruelty is local. And the people must be louder.
#Evanston #4thOfJulyTruth #DanielBiss #LukeStowe #KrissieHarris #ClareKelly #CircuitBreakerNow #BlackLivesMatter #BlackWomenSpeak #JusticeOverGreed #AffordableHousing #StopThePushout #ExposeTheObstruction #PopeyesControversy #EvanstonPolitics #DoYourJob #ProtectOurPeople #PeopleOverProfit #CommunityAccountability #WeAreWatching #MeleikaGardner #NancyFloy #Heartwood #Popeyes #DonaldTrump #healthcare #healthdisparity
🇺🇸 The 4th of July Has Always Meant Something Different to Me…But Right Now, It Hits Way Harder!
As a Black woman, I’ve never celebrated this day as “Independence Day.” It’s always been about family, food, music, joy where we can find it, but not about freedom. Not in a country that wrote us out of that story from the beginning.
And in 2025, that truth is louder than ever.
With Trumpism back in full force, we are watching rights, protections, and dignity get stripped away in real time. But let’s stop pretending this only lives in Washington. That same elitism and disregard for human need is thriving right here in Evanston.
Look at the pattern:
🟥 Trump slashed federal programs and prioritized the wealthy.
🟥 Daniel Biss voted to slash retiree healthcare in 2012 (SB1313), ripping care from families.
🟥 As mayor, Biss continues that trend by undermining the Evanston Property Tax & Rent Circuit Breaker - a lifeline not just for seniors, but for anyone struggling to keep up with skyrocketing taxes and rent.
City staff, under City Manager Luke Stowe, have refused to help move the program forward. No data collection. No research support. No follow-through. Why? Ask yourself who benefits when help is delayed…or denied.
Some residents have quietly questioned Stowe’s political leanings. And while I speak carefully here, those concerns become harder to ignore when you look at the obstruction happening on his watch.
Trump. Biss. Stowe.
Different roles. Same values.
Wealth over people. Power over justice. Control over community.
And this isn’t just about housing policy - it’s about democracy itself.
In Evanston’s 2nd Ward, Councilmember Krissie Harris stripped her own constituents of their right to a public process when she bypassed the Land Use Commission and helped push through another fast food chain at Dempster & Dodge - despite hundreds of residents calling for healthier options and support for local Black-owned businesses. That corner has long contributed to health disparities, and residents made it clear: they wanted a say in what goes there.
This wasn’t a small issue. It’s about health. It’s about community input.
But instead of listening, the Biss Administration cut the people out of the conversation completely.
When Councilmember Clare Kelly tried to speak up for the people and raise questions on record, Mayor Biss shut her down mid-sentence. You can watch it on video. That’s not transparency. That’s control.
And what happened to Nancy Floy is even more disturbing.
Nancy, founder of Heartwood Center, was harassed and intimidated by a man who walked into her business, refused to give his name, and said he was sent by “multiple people from city staff” because she opposed the Popeye’s deal.
She filed a police report.
Krissie Harris admitted to sending the man - without warning Nancy or anyone at Heartwood. And yet not a single media outlet has covered it. Only here.
Biss and Stowe continue to withhold the full Public Works investigation report, despite serious allegations raised by employees about mistreatment, retaliation, and unsafe working conditions. If there’s nothing to hide, why not release it? What kind of leadership ignores potential injustice within its own departments - especially when Black workers are at the center of those concerns?
That’s what power protecting itself looks like.
The truth is, if the people who voted for Biss and the people who voted for Trump had actually paid attention to their documented records and not just their speeches, they would have built a list of reasons not to give men like this power.
Biss gave red flag after red flag, clear as day. And Trump? Goodness gracious.
And so… here we are.
So no, I don’t celebrate the 4th of July for what this country claims to be.
I honor those still fighting for what it could be.
And that fight isn’t over. The Circuit Breaker Program is headed back to the Budget & Finance Committee, and we must show up for it. This is for the seniors, the working families, the single parents, and every resident just trying to hold on.
An appeal is in motion, thanks to the courage and persistence of community advocates like Nancy Floy, regarding the Dempster & Dodge Popeye’s situation.
If we don’t demand better - we’ll keep getting worse.
📌 Save this post. Share it. Stay alert.
The pattern is real. The cruelty is local. And the people must be louder.
#Evanston #4thOfJulyTruth #DanielBiss #LukeStowe #KrissieHarris #ClareKelly #CircuitBreakerNow #BlackLivesMatter #BlackWomenSpeak #JusticeOverGreed #AffordableHousing #StopThePushout #ExposeTheObstruction #PopeyesControversy #EvanstonPolitics #DoYourJob #ProtectOurPeople #PeopleOverProfit #CommunityAccountability #WeAreWatching #MeleikaGardner #NancyFloy #Heartwood #Popeyes #DonaldTrump #healthcare #healthdisparity
