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
03 Jul 2024
🖨️ Print Article

Black Agenda Radio · "What to the Slave is the 4th of July?" read by Ossie Davis
As we grow closer to the Fourth of July, BAR once again shares this piece - a reading of "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" read by Ozzie 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
Frederick Douglass
July 4th

Related Podcasts

Gerald Horne
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
Gerald Horne Discusses His Book "The Capital of Slavery: Washington DC 1800 - 1865"
27 June 2025
Dr. Gerald Horne is an author and historian who currently holds the John J.
Black Agenda Radio
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
Black Agenda Radio March 7, 2025
07 March 2025
In this week’s segment we discuss the continued genocide in Gaza despite the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
Rikers Island
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
Rikers Island, Slave Catching, and the Modern Carceral State
07 March 2025
Darren Mack is co-founder and co-director of Freedom Agenda, an organization devoted to d

More Stories


  • Assata Shakur
    No One Can Stop The Rain
    01 Oct 2025
    Assata Shakur wrote the introduction and this poem for the 1990 book Hauling Up the Morning: writings & art by political prisoners and prisoners of war in the U.S.
  • Charo Mina Rojas
    Until Dignity Becomes Customary: the Determination of Francia Márquez Mina
    01 Oct 2025
    Colombian Vice President Francia Márquez Mina is strengthening diplomatic relations with African countries and their connections with Colombia's African descended communities.
  • Black Alliance For Peace
    In Honor and Memory of Assata Shakur
    01 Oct 2025
    They called Assata Shakur a fugitive; we claim her as a compass. Her work and her words will continue to chart the path toward our liberation.
  • Kim Ives
    Trump Administration Seeks to Remove Constraints from and Secure UN Funding for a New Proxy Force in Haiti
    01 Oct 2025
    The empire has a new plan for Haiti, a return to military occupation dressed up as humanitarianism. Like past occupations, it will only increase the suffering of Haiti's people.
  • Hanna Eid
    Recognizing the Palestinian 'State': A Colonial Hauntology
    01 Oct 2025
    While Gaza burns, a collaborationist class is being handed the keys to a prison and calling it a state, all in service to western imperialism.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us