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


  • count ALL votes
    BAR Poet-in-Residence Raymond Nat Turner
    count ALL votes
    27 Nov 2019
    POW…POW…POW…POW… My leaders were voted out of office with hot lead ballots: red runoffs in driveways, beds, ballroom floors, on balconies, and college campuses.
  • Bolivia Coup: Hatred of the Indian
    Álvaro García Linera
    Bolivia Coup: Hatred of the Indian
    27 Nov 2019
    How did the traditional middle class incubate so much hatred and resentment towards the people, leading them to embrace racialized fascism centered on the Indian as the enemy?
  • Give No Thanks for Settlers’ Savagery
    Mark P. Fancher
    Give No Thanks for Settlers’ Savagery
    27 Nov 2019
    The peculiar national holiday is a celebration of white settler conquest – a whitewashing of unspeakable crimes.
  • The End of American Thanksgivings: A Cause for Universal Rejoicing
    Glen Ford , BAR executive editor
    The End of American Thanksgivings: A Cause for Universal Rejoicing
    27 Nov 2019
    The mythology that Thanksgiving nurtures is itself inherently evil.
  • Letters from Our Readers 
    Jahan Choudhry BAR Comments Editor
    Letters from Our Readers 
    27 Nov 2019
    Readers wanted to discuss police accountability, the impeachment hearings, the electoral college, and Barack Obama in this round of feedback.  We print your letters for  “
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us