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


  • “Anonymous” Shows Split in Ruling Class
    Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
    “Anonymous” Shows Split in Ruling Class
    10 Sep 2018
    The “Anonymous” article in the New York Times is more evidence of “a real split in the upper levels of the US ruling elite,” said Dr Gerald Horne, professor of history and Afr
  • Trump Protects Al Qaeda, "The Resistance” Applauds, Cursing “Russians”
    Glen Ford , BAR executive editor
    Trump Protects Al Qaeda, "The Resistance” Applauds, Cursing “Russians”
    06 Sep 2018
    The “Russians” had to be reinstalled as the “enemy” after Obama made his alliance with Islamist jihad. Trump has now signed on as Protector of the Idlib Caliphate.
  • HBCU Digest and JL “Booker T” Carter Attacks Howard University Protesters
    Dominica Dunbar Dessalines
    HBCU Digest and JL “Booker T” Carter Attacks Howard University Protesters
    06 Sep 2018
    The highest stage of oppression is when your own people, who speak in the name of pride and empowerment, shoot you down for trying to liberate yourself.
  • Freedom Rider: John McCain, Trump Derangement, and False Black Consciousness
    Margaret Kimberley , BAR editor and senior columnist
    Freedom Rider: John McCain, Trump Derangement, and False Black Consciousness
    05 Sep 2018
    John McCain personified the worst of United States, and his death ceremony brought out the most worthless elements of Black America.
  • We Love the CIA!—Or How the Left Lost its Mind
    Ann Garrison , BAR contributor
    We Love the CIA!—Or How the Left Lost its Mind
    05 Sep 2018
    “The Resistance” is steering much of the left into a hard-right turn -- including even Pacifica’s KPFA Radio-Berkeley.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us