Happy Fourth of July from Chávez Ravine!

We at ChávezRavine.org want to take this opportunity to wish all of our readers a safe and happy Fourth of July celebration this weekend.

We've decided to wrap Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Thanksgiving all together today.

Why?

Fourth of July is obvious.  It's the ceremonial celebration of our nation's 239th birthday.  No other republic has survived that long, and it is surely something for us all to be proud of.  We sincerely hope that every one of our Nation's citizens — indigenous Americans and all the rest of us, who are immigrants all — are able to share fully in the independence that was so hard-won so long ago.

Thanksgiving, because it gives us the opportunity to express our gratitude — and to offer our thanks — to the many of you who read these blogs, like them on Facebook, share them, and occasionally share your comments with us.

Why Memorial Day?  We just thought it was appropriate to remember — to memorialize, if you will — the thousands of people who were displaced from their nearly 1,100 homes in the Chávez Ravine communities of la Loma, Palo Verde, and Bishop for what was a suspect purpose in the first place, and, ultimately, to make room for the construction of Dodger Stadium.  It is for them — los Desterrados — that we take the time to remember them and to celebrate them in memoriam — literally, to take them 'into memory'.

So we hope all of you have a great weekend.  Have fun, but stay safe.  And if there are fireworks where you are, then we hope it will be a spectacular display.