The Hard Truth About American Citizenship

Lazy Citizenship: Taking What You Didn’t Build
© Ogbonna Hagins for Philly Word Magazine and Freedmen’s Journal 2.0

Alright, let’s talk about that whole “birthright citizenship” thing everyone keeps bringing up like it’s some sort of magic ticket to the American Dream. Newsflash: It’s not.

Being born in the U.S. doesn’t automatically make you a citizen, and it sure as heck doesn’t make you one if your parents aren’t even supposed to be here in the first place. Birthright citizenship is a concept that’s been misunderstood, abused, and twisted like a contorted dance move at a high school prom.

The 14th Amendment—you know, that thing they love to bring up whenever someone’s trying to get their citizenship game on—isn’t some blanket card for everyone. It wasn’t written to let anybody who happens to land on American soil claim U.S. citizenship.

Nah, it was for American Freedmen, the descendants of people who were enslaved here. It’s a law meant to fix the wrongs done to the folks who built this country while they were being brutalized and exploited.

So let’s get it straight: If you were born here but your parents aren’t U.S. citizens or legal residents, you’re not a true citizen. You’re not part of the exclusive club. The 14th Amendment didn’t say “everybody, come on down!” It said, American Freedmen—the ones who have blood, sweat, and tears tied to this land—are the rightful citizens.

And now here comes all the immigrants, especially African immigrants, talking about American Freedmen being lazy. Really? How lazy are you to leave your own country, where you could’ve stayed and worked to build your own future, and instead come here to benefit off of what American Freedmen built?

That’s the definition of lazy. You didn’t want to stay and sacrifice to build up your own nation, but you’re here, taking what’s been earned by American Freedmen. You came to a country that, sure, has its issues, but American Freedmen fought, bled, and died to create this place. And now you want to claim a piece of it like you built it?

That’s a real lazy mentality—coming here to benefit from the sacrifices of others, in a country known for structural racism. The audacity is wild. It’s time for you to ask yourself: should you be back in your homeland, building with your own people, or should you stay here, riding off the backs of those who created this land? Get real. If you didn’t build it, you don’t own it.