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


  • Building on Victories for a Stronger Climate Justice Movement
    Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers
    Building on Victories for a Stronger Climate Justice Movement
    22 Jul 2020
    The global depression has fossil fuel corporations reeling, but only a people’s movement can take away their power to poison the planet.
  • Black Agenda Radio for Week of July 20, 2020
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
    Black Agenda Radio for Week of July 20, 2020
    20 Jul 2020
    The Historical Quest for a Black Nation
  • Maroons As Movement Role Models
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
    Maroons As Movement Role Models
    20 Jul 2020
    The contemporary Black struggle should draw on the experience and example of maroons, the escaped slaves that formed communities of freedom beyond the reach of the slave masters, said 
  • Move 9 are Free – Mumia is Next
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
    Move 9 are Free – Mumia is Next
    20 Jul 2020
    Born in prison to Move organization members incarcerated in the death of a Philadelphia cop in 1978, Mike Africa Jr. has waited and worked for four decades to see his sur
  •  The Historical Quest for a Black Nation
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
    The Historical Quest for a Black Nation
    20 Jul 2020
    Thanks to the New African Independence Movement of the 1970s, today’s Democratic politicians are discussing reparations for Black Americans, said Edward Onaci, a professor of
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us