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


  • Eliminating HIV in Black Communities
    Kathryn Macapagal and Darnell Motley
    Eliminating HIV in Black Communities
    27 Feb 2019
    The fight against HIV in Black America requires a comprehensive assault on institutional health disparities.
  • Recent Protests in Haiti Expose Democracy’s Lie
    Marline L. Daut
    Recent Protests in Haiti Expose Democracy’s Lie
    27 Feb 2019
    One of the greatest fictions of democracy is that people oppressed by their own government can place their faith in the electoral process.
  • Black Agenda Radio, Week of February 25, 2019
    Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
    Black Agenda Radio, Week of February 25, 2019
    26 Feb 2019
    “No legal justification” for US intervention in Venezuela decla
  • A Grandfather’s Powerful African Microphone
    Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
    A Grandfather’s Powerful African Microphone
    26 Feb 2019
    GoGo Breeze, an elder with a radio program on a provincial Zambian station, counsels listeners on wage theft and other problems facing the common people -- and gets results.
  • Upholding the Humanity of Police Victims
    Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
    Upholding the Humanity of Police Victims
    26 Feb 2019
    Eleanor Bumpers, the grandmother killed by New York City cops in 1984, was blamed for her own death, with officials citing her past criminal conviction and mental problems.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us