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


  • Mikey Smith Jamaican poet
    Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    EULOGY: Bloody Neo-Colonialism…, Amiri Baraka, 1983
    25 Oct 2023
    In this eulogy for dub poet Michael “Mikey” Smith, Amiri Baraka asserts the need for Black and Third World mass organization against the ravages of neo-colonialism, imperialism, racism, and…
  • Close Rikers
    Stacy M. Brown
    Latest Stats Show America’s Continued Love Affair with Mass Incarceration
    18 Oct 2023
    The United States still has the dubious distinction of having more people behind bars than any other country. The population of local jails continue to rise and is a bellwether for mass incarceration…
  • Image of LeBron James by Robert Carter for The Los Angeles Times
    Gus Griffin
    Palestine and the Miseducation of LeBron James
    18 Oct 2023
    The Black political class is not made up solely of politicians. Celebrities and athletes like LeBron James are given access to corporate dollars and their politics reflect their class interests.
  • Cory Booker at AIPAC conference in 2020
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Cory Booker's Boot Licking, Butt Kissing, and Buck Dancing for Zionism
    18 Oct 2023
    Cory Booker has been a favorite of right-wing interest groups ever since he first ran for office to become mayor of Newark 20 years ago.
  • The bodies of the dead in a bombing on al-Ahli Hospital are gathered outside another hospital in Gaza
    Ramzy Baroud
    It's Not a Hamas-Israeli Conflict: It's an Israeli War Against Every Palestinian
    18 Oct 2023
    The people of Gaza are completely at the mercy of Israel, without help from the outside world.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us