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


  • Anthony Karefa Rogers-Wright
    The Beautiful Game Can’t Hide the Ugly
    10 Jun 2026
    The United States should never host the World Cup because it is a country built on racism, repression, and endless war. FIFA and its leaders ignored international demands to host the matches…
  • Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    Gambling Man
    10 Jun 2026
    "Gambling Man" is the latest from BAR's Poet-in-Residence.
  • Clau O'Brien Moscoso
    Bolivia in Crisis pt 2: In Conversation with Evo Morales
    10 Jun 2026
    In a Black Agenda Report exclusive on May 29, 2026, former Bolivian president Evo Morales Ayma spoke with correspondent Clau O’Brien Moscoso.
  • Francis Phillip
    Security Crises Around the Sahel: Nigeria and the Alliance of Sahel States
    10 Jun 2026
    The Alliance of Sahel States are fighting against western backed terrorists. But neighboring Nigeria is a western puppet state and does not protect its own people or territorial integrity, choosing…
  • Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez
    Cuba will not surrender! Cuba persists and resists! And that persistence is intolerable to the empire!
    10 Jun 2026
    Speech delivered by Miguel Mario Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and president of the Republic, at the commemoration of the 95th birthday…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us