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


  • Five Years Later, Do Black Lives Matter?
    Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor
    Five Years Later, Do Black Lives Matter?
    09 Oct 2019
    Five years since its inception, a look at what the Black Lives Matter movement accomplished and the important work it left unfinished.
  • Impeachment Watch
    Ann Garrison , BAR contributor
    Impeachment Watch
    09 Oct 2019
    In their crusade to get Trump and distract from their own corruption, the Democrats have moved on from Russiagate to an impeachment inquiry over “Ukrainegate.”
  • Impeachable Boss Tweet
    BAR Poet-in-Residence Raymond Nat Turner
    Impeachable Boss Tweet
    09 Oct 2019
    in the swamp, downstream  not far from the White Supreme Court and Capitalist Hill, Boss Tweet sings in the  War House’s Offal Office
  • Letters from Our Readers 
    Jahan Chowdhry, BAR Comments Editor
    Letters from Our Readers 
    09 Oct 2019
    This week Barack Obama’s presidency and the Hong Kong protests were on your mind.  We share your letters for “
  • BAR Book Forum: Naa Oyo Kwate’s “Burgers in Blackface”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Naa Oyo Kwate’s “Burgers in Blackface”
    09 Oct 2019
    Racist restaurants cater to America’s nostalgia for a racial past of blatant white supremacy.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us