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


  •  George Floyd Not a Martyr
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
    George Floyd Not a Martyr
    02 Jun 2021
    The effectiveness of the social justice movement should be measured by “what material conditions have actually shifted for Black people” and other vulnerable groups, said Kovie Biakolo
  • Freedom Rider: Biden Breaks His Promises
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR senior columnist
    Freedom Rider: Biden Breaks His Promises
    27 May 2021
    Black people have nothing to show for a Biden presidency despite turning out in droves to put him in office.
  • Palestine is a Mirror into the Contemporary World Struggle Against Imperialism, and its Contradictions
    Danny Haiphong, BAR Contributing Editor
    Palestine is a Mirror into the Contemporary World Struggle Against Imperialism, and its Contradictions
    27 May 2021
    One cannot logically support the liberation of Palestine while simultaneously advocating regime change in Syria and Venezuela and obscene funding for the US military.
  • US Moves against Ethiopia and Eritrea: Atrocities Alleged, Sanctions Imposed
    Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    US Moves against Ethiopia and Eritrea: Atrocities Alleged, Sanctions Imposed
    27 May 2021
    US hostilities towards Ethiopia and Eritrea look more and more like those preceding US wars in Yugoslavia, Libya, and Syria, writes Ann Garrison. 
  • SPEECH: The Meaning of African Liberation Day: Walter Rodney, May 27, 1972 
    Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    SPEECH: The Meaning of African Liberation Day: Walter Rodney, May 27, 1972 
    26 May 2021
    At the 1972 event, Walter Rodney proclaimed that “black unity must be international because we live on every continent, through no choice of our own.”
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us