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


  • Tesla: The Cars That Racism Built? Black Workers Claim Lawsuits Have Not Stopped Discrimination
    Ethan Baron
    Tesla: The Cars That Racism Built? Black Workers Claim Lawsuits Have Not Stopped Discrimination
    05 Jul 2023
    Multi-billionaire Elon Musk claims to practice freedom of expression on his Twitter platform. But numerous complaints of anti-Black racism at his Tesla plant make a mockery of any claims of freedom…
  • US Legally Owes Nicaragua Reparations, But Still Refuses to Honor 1986 International Court of Justice Ruling
    Ben Norton
    US Legally Owes Nicaragua Reparations, But Still Refuses to Honor 1986 International Court of Justice Ruling
    05 Jul 2023
    37 years after a 1986 International Court of Justice ruling, the United States still refuses to pay Nicaragua the reparations it legally owes. Today, the Nicaraguan government is demanding that the…
  • Russo-Ukrainian War: The Wagner Uprising
    Big Serge
    Russo-Ukrainian War: The Wagner Uprising
    05 Jul 2023
    Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner Private Military Company, openly denounced the Russian Ministry of Defense and declared a march on Moscow.
  • Black Agenda Radio June 30, 2023
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio June 30, 2023
    30 Jun 2023
    Canada Day celebrations in a settler colonial state and removing Cuba from the "State Sponsor of Terrorism" list.
  • Settler Colonial Racism on Canada Day
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Settler Colonial Racism on Canada Day
    30 Jun 2023
    El Jones is a poet, journalist, professor and activist in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us