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


  • Sanders Unveils Plan to “Fundamentally Transform” Criminal Legal System
    Jake Johnson
    Sanders Unveils Plan to “Fundamentally Transform” Criminal Legal System
    21 Aug 2019
    The presidential candidate calls for people to “stand together” to end the war on drugs and cut the prison population in half.
  • “Jay-Z” Did Not Sell Out, He Bought In
    Wilmer J. Leon III
    “Jay-Z” Did Not Sell Out, He Bought In
    21 Aug 2019
    Like the scorpion in the folk parable, it’s in Jay-Z’s nature to make a killing – at Kaepernick and the community’s expense.
  • Uncle Sam was Born Lethal 
    Paul Street
    Uncle Sam was Born Lethal 
    21 Aug 2019
    Donald Trump is indeed a neofascist, but the US was built on a mass murderous white supremacism that, until recently, was unapologetically genocidal.
  • Socialists of Color to the Front
    Eli Day
    Socialists of Color to the Front
    21 Aug 2019
    LeftRoots’ stated purpose: to strategize around “21st-century socialism” and then bring people together to help get there.
  • Black People in America Cannot Be Racist (As Much As They Might Like To Be)
    Rohn Kenyatta
    Black People in America Cannot Be Racist (As Much As They Might Like To Be)
    21 Aug 2019
    Black people in the US may not like white people, for good reason, but lack the power to construct an anti-white racism.  
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us