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
  • omnibus

"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


  • Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    EDITORIAL: After the Olympics: Buying off Protest, Harry Edwards, 1969
    16 Jul 2025
    “Racists don’t give up easily, we learned, and the racists in sports are especially dedicated.”
  • Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    Don’t point fingers. Don’t ask evil questions.
    16 Jul 2025
    "Don’t point fingers. Don’t ask evil questions." is the latest from BAR's Poet-in-Residence.
  • Said Bouamama Blog
    Settler Colonialism in light of F. Fanon: Algeria yesterday, Kanaky today... (Part 2)
    16 Jul 2025
    As settler-colonial violence escalates from Kanaky to Palestine, Fanon’s century-old warnings are critical today—capitalism’s genocidal expansion demands revolution.
  • Black Alliance for Peace Africa Team
    The Black Alliance for Peace Stands Unequivocally Behind Kenya’s Youth Upholding Resistance Against U.S. Puppet State Imperialism and Neo-Liberalism
    16 Jul 2025
    Kenya's Gen Z uprising is met with live bullets and a US-funded police crackdown. The brutal repression exposes the reality of neocolonialism, where Western 'aid' arms murderous regimes and IMF…
  • Palestine Chronicle Staff
    92 Palestinians Killed in Israeli Strikes on Gaza, Including Scores in Gaza City
    16 Jul 2025
    Dr. Marwan Al-Hams, Director of Field Hospitals at the Ministry of Health in Gaza, warned that nearly half, 47%, of essential medicines are now completely depleted.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us