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


  • All US White Groups are Implicated in Slavery and Black Oppression
    Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
    All US White Groups are Implicated in Slavery and Black Oppression
    09 Jul 2019
    Katrina Browne, a descendant of Rhode Islanders who were the “largest slave-trading family in US history,” told a congressional committee considering the HR 40 reparations study bi
  • Race to the Bottom is Imperial Plan
    Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
    Race to the Bottom is Imperial Plan
    09 Jul 2019
    “The decline in US living standards and economic security is not a side effect of globalization – it is the intended effect of this global regime that is being imposed,” said BAR executive editor…
  • The Banks are King of the Imperial Order
    Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
    The Banks are King of the Imperial Order
    09 Jul 2019
    BAR contributor Danny Haiphong told the Left Forum that “anti-imperialism is the only antidote” for US-led global austerity.
  • Money Rules in US, Not the People
    Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
    Money Rules in US, Not the People
    09 Jul 2019
    “If the people who write or bundle the checks ca decide who becomes president, then that is proof-positive that we do not have a democracy,” said BAR editor and senior columnist Margar
  • Bruce Dixon “a Real Soldier” of the Movement
    Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
    Bruce Dixon “a Real Soldier” of the Movement
    09 Jul 2019
    BAR managing editor Bruce Dixon, the former Black Panther and lifelong activist who died from blood cancer at age 68, was “ a real soldier in the sense that he was willing and eager to take on any
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us