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


  • Pennsylvania Supreme Court Smacks Abu-Jamal Again
    Linn Washington Jr
    Pennsylvania Supreme Court Smacks Abu-Jamal Again
    04 Mar 2020
    The Justices used extraordinary authority to delay Mumia’s appeal of his murder conviction.
  • Teaching Theory, Talking Community
    Joy James
    Teaching Theory, Talking Community
    04 Mar 2020
    For centuries, Indigenous and African peoples in the Americas have theorized for their lives and so collectively crafted a revolutionary praxis.
  • Letters from Our Readers 
    Jahan Choudhry BAR Comments Editor
    Letters from Our Readers 
    04 Mar 2020
    This week you had Joe Biden’s electability, Russiagate, and the challenges of building a new peace movement on your minds.
  • BAR Book Forum: Joshua Myers’s “We Are Worth Fighting For”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Joshua Myers’s “We Are Worth Fighting For”
    04 Mar 2020
    The students imagined a new kind of university and a radical transformation of the world.
  • BAR Book Forum: Elizabeth Foster’s book, “African Catholic”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Elizabeth Foster’s book, “African Catholic”
    04 Mar 2020
    The decolonization of Africa, and the determined activism of prominent African Catholics, played an important role in diversifying the church.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us