Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

"What to the Slave is the 4th of July?" read by Ossie Davis
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
01 Jul 2022
🖨️ Print Article

Black Agenda Radio · "What to the Slave is the 4th of July?" read by Ossie Davis

On July 5, 1852 Frederick Douglass was asked to speak on the topic of the nation’s independence celebration. Now known as "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?", the speech was a stinging indictment of slavery in the U.S., but the words are still relevant to Black people 170 years later. The late Ossie Davis read excerpts from Douglass’s remarks.

Slavery in U.S.
Frederick Douglass

Related Podcasts

Frederick Douglass
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
"What to the Slave is the 4th of July?" read by Ossie Davis
03 July 2024
As we grow closer to the Fourth of July, BAR once again shares
Twenty Dollars and Change: Harriet Tubman and the Ongoing Fight for Racial Justice and Democracy
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
Twenty Dollars and Change: Harriet Tubman and the Ongoing Fight for Racial Justice and Democracy
03 March 2023
Black Agenda Radio July 1, 2022
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
Black Agenda Radio July 1, 2022
01 July 2022
We discuss reproductive justice in the wake of the supreme court ruling which overturned the Roe v. Wade decision.

More Stories


  • Fear Pervades Black Politics, and Makes Us Agents of Our Own Oppression
    Glen Ford , BAR executive editor
    Fear Pervades Black Politics, and Makes Us Agents of Our Own Oppression
    05 Mar 2020
    Many Black voters recoiled in abject terror at the very thought that the Democratic Party – “our” party, in many Black folks’ minds – might fracture under the challenge of the Sandernistas.
  • Freedom Rider: U.S. Continues Its War on the Rest of the World
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR senior columnist
    Freedom Rider: U.S. Continues Its War on the Rest of the World
    04 Mar 2020
    The duopoly corporate parties enforce silence and ignorance on foreign policy to ensure that Americans have neither the knowledge nor the tools to resist their country’s policy of endless war.
  • Why it is Unlikely Sandernistas Will Catch Russiagate Fever and Why He Should Be Held Accountable Anyway
    Danny Haiphong, BAR Contributing Editor
    Why it is Unlikely Sandernistas Will Catch Russiagate Fever and Why He Should Be Held Accountable Anyway
    04 Mar 2020
    Bernie Sanders’ rise to frontrunner status has done nothing to challenge the endless wars waged by the US, yet he is sure to face more smears and attacks the more his campaign succeeds.
  • California Flags Alienated, Idealistic Kids of Color as Potential Violent Extremists
    Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    California Flags Alienated, Idealistic Kids of Color as Potential Violent Extremists
    04 Mar 2020
    The program deputizes teachers to spy on students and recruits social service agencies to assemble dossiers on them while providing mental health services.
  • Ask your doctor if Klobuchar is Right for you
    Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    Ask your doctor if Klobuchar is Right for you
    04 Mar 2020
    “Klobuchar may cause Serious side effects including dry mouth, blindness, deafness, recurring nightmares and suicidal thoughts… Don’t use Klobuchar if
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us