When the Fourth of July rolled around, Judy Wicks, founder of the White Dog Cafe, was not feeling very patriotic about the United States.

Wanting an alternative to the traditional Independence Day, Wicks decided to host a “Liberty and Justice for All” ball on July 24, celebrating the “foundational American value equality for all.” Her goal was to champion a future America that “fulfills our promise of liberty and justice,” Wicks told the Local.

“A couple days before the Fourth of July, I was thinking to myself how I just wasn’t in the mood to celebrate our country. In fact, I was basically ashamed of our country,” Wicks said. “Then I was inspired by this poem by Langston Hughes. … Part of his poem (reads), ‘let America be America again, the land that never has been yet, and yet must be the land where every man is free. Oh, yes, I say it plain, America never was America to me, and yet I swear this oath America will be.’”

She added, “A lot of people feel depressed or helpless, it’s important to gather people and have a sense of community and solidarity and to celebrate together, and to have joy in our collective vision.”

Wicks was inspired by the work of Ezra Levin and Leah Greenberg, co-founders of Indivisible, which organized the No Kings protest against President Donald Trump.Wicks reached out to the organization’s local branch.

“I was so impressed with their spirit, their commitment to justice, the strategy of decentralization,” Wicks said. “I decided to find out who was leading the Philadelphia chapter. That person’s name is Vicki Miller, and so I invited her to come and speak and let people know how we can volunteer to help make Indivisible Philadelphia more impactful.”

Wicks’ party drew a large crowd of local residents, business owners, and politicians including Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner.

When asked why he attended the party, Krasner told the Local he was there because of “Judy Wicks and Indivisible, and the fact that we save our democracy and crush [overt] Nazis.”

The party took place in the backyard of Wicks’ Chestnut Hill Home, with volunteers from Indivisible setting up booths around the yard. Before the band took over, Wicks offered remarks along with her daughter Grace Wicks, Miller, and K. Rose Samuel-Evans, a local minister who read excerpts from Martin Luther King Jr.’s final book “Where Do We Go from Here?”

The speeches concluded with State Sen. Vincent Hughes riling up the crowd, shouting, “We keep showing them how wrong they are, how cruel they are, how heartless they are, and when we do that, we win.”

By the time the speeches concluded, Wicks’ backyard was full, with attendees crowding the dance floor.

Wicks said, “We were thrilled with the attendance of around 250 people, and the hopeful spirit of the event. The dance floor was filled with aging baby boomers, mixed with younger folks, experiencing the collective joy of a shared vision for a just and loving America.”

She added, “Though we expected 200 people, there were close to 250 in attendance. I hope to make the All Ball an annual event as an alternative Fourth of July, held on July 24th, to celebrate those, past and present, who are working to fulfill the American promise of liberty and justice for all.”

Tommy Tucker can be reached at Tommy@chestnuthilllocal.com.