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


  • How the US Creates ‘Sh*thole’ Countries
    Robert Fantina
    How the US Creates ‘Sh*thole’ Countries
    27 Nov 2018
    A new collection of essays, edited by former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, clearly shows that it is the U.S. that is largely responsible for the poverty and suffering in these very nations.
  • BAR Book Forum: Keisha Lindsay’s “In a Classroom of Their Own”and Dixa Ramirez’s “Colonial Phantoms”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Keisha Lindsay’s “In a Classroom of Their Own”and Dixa Ramirez’s “Colonial Phantoms”
    27 Nov 2018
    Our authors address global anti-Blackness and the particular Dominican Republic variety, and examine the pros and cons of all black male schooling.
  • BAR Abolition Spotlight: Derecka Purnell
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Abolition Spotlight Editor
    BAR Abolition Spotlight: Derecka Purnell
    27 Nov 2018
    Police abolitionists “want a society that works to eliminate harm and promote liberation and self-determination.”
  • Cuba's First Military Doctors (Part 1)
    Don Fitz
    Cuba's First Military Doctors (Part 1)
    27 Nov 2018
    Revolutionary Cuba decided in the Sixties “that the best defense for the island would be an international offense” -- in Africa.
  • Black Agenda Radio, Week of November 25, 2018
    Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
    Black Agenda Radio, Week of November 25, 2018
    27 Nov 2018
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us