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


  • South Africa’s Energy Crisis Escalates
    Brian Kamanzi
    South Africa’s Energy Crisis Escalates
    27 Jul 2022
    Behind rolling power cuts loom deep-seated socioeconomic issues worsened by the rich countries of the world.
  • National Strike in Panama Demands Justice for the Poor
    Peoples Dispatch
    National Strike in Panama Demands Justice for the Poor
    27 Jul 2022
    For almost two weeks, tens of thousands of Panamanians have been taking to the streets across the country protesting the cost of living crisis and lack of of response and attention from the…
  • Mr. Magoo, what’s new? “Oh, say, can you see?”
    Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    Mr. Magoo, what’s new? “Oh, say, can you see?”
    22 Jul 2022
    I. Didn’t Lynne say something like, “The law’s What they say it is…today…” (????????????????) Didn’t Lenin say something like, “The state is an
  • Black Agenda Radio July 22, 2022
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio July 22, 2022
    22 Jul 2022
    The anniversary of the Sandinista revolution and a Central American zone of peace, the end of Roe v. Wade and American politics, and Biden administration aggression against Russia and China and the…
  • Nicaragua and a Central American Zone of Peace
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Nicaragua and a Central American Zone of Peace
    22 Jul 2022
    On July 19, 1979 Sandinista forces emerged victorious after years of struggle against the U.S. backed Somoza dictatorship. We talk to Netfa Freeman who is in Nicaragua about the significance of these…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us