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


  • BAR Book Forum: Cord Whitaker’s “Black Metaphors”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Cord Whitaker’s “Black Metaphors”
    09 Oct 2019
    Whites’ fear of and oppression and violence toward blacks was born in the Middle Ages.
  • Politicians Agree: Any White Cop Can Kill a Black Man
    Don Fitz
    Politicians Agree: Any White Cop Can Kill a Black Man
    09 Oct 2019
    Racist barbarity is on the march, with Missouri’s men and women in blue in the vanguard.
  • “The Necessity Defense”—Why I’m Not Sorry for Antifa 
    Anthony Rogers-Wright
    “The Necessity Defense”—Why I’m Not Sorry for Antifa 
    09 Oct 2019
    You can’t build long-term power by letting white supremacists, nor the government, harm and kill people with impunity.
  • Black Agenda Report’s 13th Anniversary: An Evening of Information and Inspiration for Liberation, and a Tribute to Co-Founder Bruce Dixon
    by BAR Staff
    Black Agenda Report’s 13th Anniversary: An Evening of Information and Inspiration for Liberation, and a Tribute to Co-Founder Bruce Dixon
    09 Oct 2019
    6p to 9p on Saturday, October 26 at the People’s Forum, 320 West 37th Street, New York City.
  • Building a Solidarity Economy in Jackson, Mississippi
    Cheree Franco
    Building a Solidarity Economy in Jackson, Mississippi
    09 Oct 2019
    A project for cooperative economic democracy in the Deep South seeks to break free from big capital’s “value chains.”
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us