WE READ FREDERICK DOUGLASS
JULY 5, 2025
Join in this community reading of Douglass’ 1852 speech, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July” right here in Topeka!
On July 5th, 2025, ArtsConnect will host a community reading of the speech by Frederick Douglass entitled “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July” at the Brown v. Board of Education Nat’l Historical Park Site.
In 2020, ArtsConnect created an online version of this event which featured more than 30 readers from Topeka. Events dedicated to this speech have also been hosted elsewhere across the country in response to the continued need for acts of remembrance and resistance.
WHY SHOULD WE READ FREDERICK DOUGLASS …..TOGETHER?
“Indeed the need to conduct the reading is heightened by the tenor of today’s talk about race. In light of the growing intolerance that characterizes a great deal of public discourse, it is all the more important not only to reflect on Douglass’s words but to do so in community.”
~ David Harris, Managing Director of the Charles Hamilton Institute for Racial Justice, Harvard Law School
“When we read Frederick Douglass out loud, we listen to the power of his words echo off the walls and around the room. It’s a powerful thing to listen to different people reading his words and questions, some of which our society still struggles with just as much now as in 1852. After the speech, we take time to reflect on contemporary issues such as immigration, prison reform, and social and racial justice. We pause in our commemoration of Douglass’s life to ask: what issues would he be championing now? What should we be addressing and how?”
- Lee Blake, President of the New Bedford Historical Society and Director of the Campus Compact, University of MA Dartmouth
Looking back to July of 2020, we remember the nationwide lockdowns, division, and solitary activities. But, we also remember that, following the murder of George Floyd and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, there was also a broad recognition of the power that exists when communities come together to stand up for one another, to stand against injustice and to take the matter of community-building more seriously than ever.
It was that same July that we first read Frederick Douglass together. More than 30 readers (listed below) recorded themselves reading a section of the speech until the speech was complete - and then we put all of those videos together so that we could see each other’s faces, hear each other’s voices and be inspired to action by the words of Douglass.
There are many important actions that can be taken in the name of equity and justice. To be together in community, working to build a more perfect union by remembering our history and promising to walk together into the future is one of the most important things that any of us can do.
2020 READERS
Tara Bartley, Annette Billings, James Bugg, Veronica Byrd, Ariane Davis, Lisa Davis, Michelle De La Isla (Fmr. Topeka Mayor), William Domme, Gary E. Douglas, Glenda DuBoise, Sue Edgerton-Johnson, Dennis Etzel, Jr., Sarah Fizell, Erica Garcia, Annastasia Glover, Rodney Harmon, S.J. Hazim, Marty Hillard, Karen Hiller, Sara Hoyer, Lorna Jarrett, Raymond Jarrett, Jr., Kara Kendall-Morwick, Michelle Kirk, Louise Krug, Shampayne Lloyd, Huascar Medina, Oshara Meesha, William Naeger, Hannah Naeger, Dr. Beryl A. New, Dané Shobe, Matt Spezia, Maren Turner, Kamahra Walker and Glenda Washington.
Who was Frederick Douglass?
Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey; c. February 1817 – February 20, 1895) escaped from slavery in 1838 and lived for many years in Massachusetts. He delivered the Fourth of July speech on July 5, 1852, in Rochester, New York, to the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society.
The most celebrated orator of his day, Douglass’ powerful language, resolute denunciations of slavery, and forceful examination of the Constitution challenge us to think about the histories we tell, the values they teach, and if our actions match our aspirations. To quote Douglass, “We have to do with the past only as we can make it useful to the future.”
RESOURCES AND MORE INFORMATION
For this reading, we used a shortened version of the speech. You can view the abridged version as well as the full version by clicking below.