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


  •  Critical Race Theory Debacle Signals the Collapse of the American Empire
    Danny Haiphong, BAR Contributing Editor
    Critical Race Theory Debacle Signals the Collapse of the American Empire
    08 Jul 2021
    Whatever the strengths and limitations of Critical Race Theory, the debate over its usefulness to establishment circles is indicative of the American Empire’s rapid decline
  • .MANIFESTO: International African Service Bureau’s Manifesto Against War, 1938
    Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    MANIFESTO: International African Service Bureau’s Manifesto Against War, 1938
    08 Jul 2021
    German Nazis, Italian Fascists, British, French, Belgian democracies – all are the same, imperialist exploiters .
  • Legal scholar Francis A. Boyle told Ann Garrison that a “Responsibility-to-Protect” intervention in Ethiopia would be illegal and catastrophic.
    Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    Ethiopian Conflict and International Law
    08 Jul 2021
    Legal scholar Francis A. Boyle told Ann Garrison that a “Responsibility-to-Protect” intervention in Ethiopia would be illegal and catastrophic.
  • A known known…
    Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    A known known…
    08 Jul 2021
    “…there are known knowns. There are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns—things we do not know we know…” -- an infamous War Criminal
  • Critical Race Theory Opponents Are Just Proving Our Point For Us
    Gary Peller
    Critical Race Theory Opponents Are Just Proving Our Point For Us
    08 Jul 2021
    Conservative activists have branded all race reform efforts in education and employment as CRT.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us