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


  • Mumia Abu Jamal Newspaper Admonishes DA to Stop Defending the Indefensible
    Pam Africa
    Mumia Abu Jamal Newspaper Admonishes DA to Stop Defending the Indefensible
    24 Feb 2021
    “If DA Krasner wants to embrace anti-racist principles…then he needs to take an honest look at the facts of Mumia’s case.”
  • Judas and the Black Messiah, A Missed Opportunity
    Dante James
    Judas and the Black Messiah, A Missed Opportunity
    24 Feb 2021
    The film framed Hampton as a victim instead of a pro-active freedom fighter and revolutionary.
  • A New Civil Rights Movement, a New Journal
    Geoffrey Jacques 
    A New Civil Rights Movement, a New Journal
    24 Feb 2021
    By the end of its run, Freedomways had become something close to a journal of record of the mid-to-late 20th Century African American freedom movement.
  • Sumo Wrestlers & Supermodels: Reimagining the Education of Black Children
    David Marcus Rutherford
    Sumo Wrestlers & Supermodels: Reimagining the Education of Black Children
    24 Feb 2021
      How do we define success for Black students and the adults that they become? 
  • Black Families Have a Major Stake in the Future of the Postal Service
    Sarah Anderson, Scott Klinger, Brian Wakamo
    Black Families Have a Major Stake in the Future of the Postal Service
    24 Feb 2021
    If there is any source of mass employment that has provided Black workers with decent wages and upward mobility, it is the US Postal Service, the target of corporatist assault.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us