LINK TO READING

Link to Declaration of Independence (selected passages)

How: The Somerville Museum received a sponsorship from Mass Humanities to coordinate a public reading of Frederick Douglass’s famous Fourth of July address, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” Mass Humanities gives these sponsorships annually for readings by organizations with communities around the state. A group of people take turns reading parts of the speech until they have read all of it. Where and how they do it and what they do before and after, are all up to the local event planners.

What: “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” is the title now given to a speech by Frederick Douglass delivered on July 5, 1852, in Corinthian Hall, Rochester, New York, addressing the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society. The speech may be the most widely known of all his writings except his autobiographies.

While referring to the celebrations of the American Independence day the day before, the speech explores the constitutional and values-based arguments against the Slave trade within the United States. Douglass suggests that positive statements about American values, such as liberty, citizenship, and freedom, were an offense to the enslaved people of the United States because of their lack of freedom, liberty, and citizenship. Douglass refers to the captivity of enslaved people, their exploitation and the cruelty and torture to which they were subjected while enslaved. 

Why: We read this speech because Douglass’ words are still relevant today. It opens up a discussion on race and citizenship and it’s important to continue this conversation. 

Keidrick Roy is a Ph.D. candidate in American Studies at Harvard University. His dissertation explores race, religion, and political philosophy in European and American intellectual history. In 2018 Keidrick co-curated an exhibit on the postbellum writings of Frederick Douglass for the American Writers Museum in Chicago, and he is currently working on an exhibition for the Houghton Library at Harvard University entitled “Reframing the Racial State.” Keidrick is a former military nuclear operations officer and Instructor of English at the United States Air Force Academy. Keidrick is a Somerville Museum and Advisory Council member, and will be leading our Summer Discussion Series, “Race, Fragility, and Anti-Racism” beginning on July 1st.

This event and program is supported and funded by Mass Humanities and NEH.
Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.