Reading Together Fredrick Douglass’ Fourth of July Address, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”

The Friends of William Lloyd Garrison invites members of the public to join them in reading aloud Fredrick Douglass’ Fourth of July Address, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” at 10 a.m. Sunday, July 6, in Brown Square.
This 8th annual public, interactive reading is sponsored by the Friends of William Lloyd Garrison, the Museum of Old Newbury, and the First Religious Society Unitarian Universalist, in partnership with Mass Humanities.
The reading will be followed by a discussion led by Jason Sokol, a historian of the civil rights movement, professor at University of New Hampshire and a Newburyport resident.
This is an outdoor event and open to all. Please bring folding chairs if you would like to sit. Participation in this public reading event is encouraged but not required.
In case of rain this event will be held inside at the First Religious Society UU, 26 Pleasant Street, Newburyport. Call 978-578-2486 to confirm the event location.
For more information contact Kristen Fehlhaber or Andrea Gaut Eigerman, co-chairs of Friends of William Lloyd Garrison, 978-578-2486 (Kristen) or 978-376-6376 (Andrea).
Mass Humanities has provided grants to nonprofits to host public readings and discussions of this famous speech this summer across Massachusetts. Newburyport is one of dozens of sites hosting a public reading Frederick Douglass Together event.
Douglass escaped from enslavement in 1838 and lived for many years in Massachusetts. He delivered this 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.”
This program is funded in part by Mass Humanities, which receives support from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
For information, please visit: WLGarrison.com