‘What To The Slave Is The Fourth Of July?’ Frederick Douglass, Revisited

“What to the slave is the Fourth of July?” posed Frederick Douglass to a gathering of 500-600 abolitionists in Rochester, N.Y., in 1852. Admission to the speech was 12 cents, and the crowd at the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society was enthusiastic, voting unanimously to endorse the speech at its end. This speech would be remembered as one of the most poignant addresses by Douglass, a former slave turned statesman. Douglass gave it on July 5, refusing to celebrate the Fourth of July until all slaves were emancipated.

On July 3, 165 years later, the same question was posed on a stage in the basement of the National Archives, in Washington, D.C. This time by an actor, dressed like Frederick Douglass and wearing a wig, speaking to a 100 or so people, plus the livestream audience, in the William G. McGowan Theater. The event was put on with the help of the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, which hosts an annual reading of the speech, entitled The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro.

‘What To The Slave Is The Fourth Of July?’ Frederick Douglass, Revisited

Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

More Posts from Nycronin1 and Others

nycronin1

9 years ago

Last night at the Alice Tully Hall, getting blown away by Karita Mattila.

2 notes View Post

nycronin1

7 years ago

👋🏿🙌🏿

🙋🏾 Raise your hand if my blog makes you HORNY!!! DM me if MY Blog is one you masturbate to!! I 💘 hearing from fellow Freaks 😘

94 notes View Post

nycronin1

9 years ago

You haven’t tried. You’re like a goddess and I’m insanely insecure. Getting mad at me for it won’t change anything. What do you want me to do?

Your secrets are safe here (via thesecretletter)

62 notes View Post

nycronin1

9 years ago

It was a lovely day

3 notes View Post

nycronin1

7 years ago

Yes I am!

50K notes View Post

nycronin1

5 years ago

“Those poor boys”

“She deserves to be punished too.”

“I’m not saying I support rape, but-”

“Sorry to say - she deserved it.”

“She put herself in harm’s way”

“But if she was fingered, then that’s not rape.”

“She ruined their lives.”

1,370K notes View Post

nycronin1

9 years ago

I support the right for all to be treated equal no matter their sexual preferences. It is the biggest hypocrisy to deny people their individuality just because I am straight. I am a supporter of the LGBT rights and proudly so.

Reblog if you're gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, asexual, transgender or a supporter.

2,288K notes View Post

nycronin1

5 years ago

Why They’re Called ‘Wet Markets’ — And What Health Risks They Might Pose

A “wet market” in Wuhan, China, is catching the blame as the probable source of the current coronavirus outbreak that’s sweeping the globe.

Patients who came down with disease at the end of December all had connections to the Hunan Seafood Market in Wuhan China. The complex of stalls selling live fish, meat and wild animals is known in the region as a “wet market.” Researchers believe the new virus probably mutated from a coronavirus common in animals and jumped over to humans in the Wuhan bazaar.

This kind of market is not just an Asian phenomenon. There are similar markets all over the world — places where fish, poultry and other animals are slaughtered and butchered right on the premises.