On July 4, we celebrate freedom — but this year we need more than fireworks, flags and speeches to keep liberty alive.
We need solidarity.
We need a collective commitment to stand together when our neighbors are targeted, when principles of due process and justice are under attack - when our democracy is at risk.
During the Civil Rights movement, Black organizers led the charge. They were joined by labor unions, faith leaders, and young people of all backgrounds. In California, when farm workers demanded better working conditions, Filipino and Mexican laborers walked out together, reshaping the labor movement. And when Japanese Americans were rounded up and sent to concentration camps during World War II, it was cross-community solidarity that helped secure redress and reparations decades later.
Each of these moments in American history reminds us of something essential: Freedom isn't guaranteed. It's something people of all races and walks of life have fought for, protected, and sustained through collective action.
Today, freedom in America faces renewed threats — violence against elected leaders, military-style raids on immigrant neighborhoods, political attacks on nonprofits, disinformation campaigns, and the targeting of institutions because of their efforts to ensure equity for all. These are calculated efforts to erode democracy by dehumanizing the vulnerable, denying truth, and intimidating those who dare to resist.
But we are not powerless when we work together.
At the California Wellness Foundation, we support partners building solidarity across communities. We support organizers building community power to advance health and racial justice. We fund immigrant rights advocates and frontline service providers. And we back movement leaders protecting democracy — not only in courtrooms, but in neighborhoods, churches, clinics, and workplaces.
We show solidarity by funding the people defending our freedoms.
This July 4, stand in solidarity with your neighbors - speak out, make a donation, appeal to your elected leaders - and show the true meaning of freedom in America.
