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


  • BAR Radio Logo
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio April 17, 2026
    17 Apr 2026
    In this week’s segment, we have an update on the US/Israeli war of aggression against Iran from a journalist reporting from Iran. But we begin with two organizers of the Pan-Africanism Summit Against…
  • Pan-African Summit Against Imperialism
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Pan-Africanism Summit Against Imperialism
    17 Apr 2026
    The Pan-Africanism Summit Against Imperialism (PASAI) will be held on May 11 and May 12 in Nairobi, Kenya. It is organized as a counter-summit to the France-Africa summit taking place in Nairobi at…
  • The Colony Archive
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Journalist Navid Zarinnal Reports from Iran
    17 Apr 2026
    Navid Zarrinnal is an Iranian journalist and host of The Colony Archive podcast. He joins us again from Iran to discuss the fragile "cease fire," Trump's threats, the Strait of Hormuz, and how Iran's…
  • Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Trump, Jesus, and White Supremacy
    15 Apr 2026
    Beliefs in white supremacy and manifest destiny are at the heart of Donald Trump’s actions and his appeal to millions of people.
  • Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    ESSAY: Zionist Logic, Malcolm X, 1964
    15 Apr 2026
    “The ever-scheming European imperialists wisely placed Israel where she could geographically divide the Arab world…and also divide the Africans against the Asians.”
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us