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


  • Black Maternal Health
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Maternal Health
    14 Apr 2023
    Black Maternal Health week is April 11 through April 17.
  • No To War, No To NATO North American Perspectives On Ukraine, Russia, And NATO
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    No To War, No To NATO North American Perspectives On Ukraine, Russia, And NATO
    14 Apr 2023
    Margaret Kimberley participated in a webinar hosted by World BEYOND War entitled, No to War, No to NATO: North American Perspectives on Ukraine, Russia, & NATO.
  • Black People Used to Attack Revolutionary Governments
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Black People Used to Attack Revolutionary Governments
    12 Apr 2023
    The question of how Black people fare in a particular country can be a legitimate issue or a ruse used in the furtherance of U.S. regime change plots. 
  • SPEECH: Forge Negro-Labor Unity for Peace and Jobs, Paul Robeson, 1950
    Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    SPEECH: Forge Negro-Labor Unity for Peace and Jobs, Paul Robeson, 1950
    12 Apr 2023
    Paul Robeson’s 1950 speech to the delegates of the National Labor Conference for Negro Rights should remind us that there is no Black liberation struggle without the Black working masses.
  • US Still Imposing Illegal, Unilateral Economic Sanctions on Eritrea
    Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    US Still Imposing Illegal, Unilateral Economic Sanctions on Eritrea
    12 Apr 2023
    Yemane Ghebreab, advisor to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki, explains how US economic sanctions impact the Eritrean people.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us