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


  • Paul Kagame and His House Negro, Félix Tshisekedi -- Photo: DR Congo Félix Tshisekedi
    Ann Garrison , BAR contributor
    Paul Kagame and His House Negro, Félix Tshisekedi
    05 Jun 2019
    The people of Congo will never forget that Paul Kagame brought death to more than 6 million of their mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters. 
  • How the ‘Central Park Five’ Changed the History of American Law
    Elizabeth Hinton
    How the ‘Central Park Five’ Changed the History of American Law
    05 Jun 2019
    Despite no DNA evidence, fingerprints, blood, or semen linking any of the black and brown boys to the crime, all five defendants grew up in prison.
  • Letters from Our Readers 
    Jahan Chowdhry, BAR Comments Editor
    Letters from Our Readers 
    05 Jun 2019
    This week you wanted to talk about Joe Biden’s presidential run, the National Lawyers Guild, Julian Assange, and Israeli apartheid.  Strong comments came for “
  • BAR Book Forum: Jennifer Nash’s “Black Feminism Reimagined”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Jennifer Nash’s “Black Feminism Reimagined”
    05 Jun 2019
    Black women are still regularly ignored by the very political projects that celebrate us.
  • BAR Book Forum: An Excerpt from Belén Fernández’s “Exile: Rejecting America and Finding the World”
    Belen Fernandez
    BAR Book Forum: An Excerpt from Belén Fernández’s “Exile: Rejecting America and Finding the World”
    05 Jun 2019
    The US is a nation of freedom: the freedom to carry or be shot by a firearm, and to go into eternal debt.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us