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


  • Luke Goldstein , Lucy Dean Stockton
    Corporations Invested In Lawsuits Before Venezuela Invasion
    07 Jan 2026
    Trump’s removal of President Nicolas Maduro could tilt international court proceedings and provide a windfall to corporate plaintiffs.
  • Pavan Kulkarni
    The war in Sudan is “between two wings of a comprador parasitic capitalist class”
    07 Jan 2026
    Sudan's war is a conflict within the comprador elite, cultivated by external powers to plunder the nation's resources after destroying a popular revolution.
  • Yusleny Morales , Orinoco Tribune
    Venezuela: In Mass Demonstrations, the People Demand Return of President Maduro
    07 Jan 2026
    Mass demonstrations in Caracas and throughout Venezuela are a rejection of U.S. regime change. The people are united in demanding the return of President Maduro from a U.S. kidnapping.
  • Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
    Venezuela Declares State of Emergency, Calls for International Solidarity in Official Communiqué
    07 Jan 2026
    Venezuela's statement categorically denounces U.S. action as criminal aggression, framing the nation's resistance as a legitimate defense of sovereignty against imperialism.
  • Struggle La Lucha
    Cuba Reports 32 Fighters Killed in U.S. Attack on Venezuela
    07 Jan 2026
    In Venezuela and around the world Cuba is in the forefront of defending revolution.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us