Cape Cod Times
On July 5, 1852, Frederick Douglass, who risked arrest and possible death as a runaway slave, gave his speech What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? telling the white audience that the holiday is yours, not mine.
The speech to the Ladies Anti-Slavery Society of Rochester, New York in which the abolitionist and orator said that to ask a Black person to celebrate the white man s freedom from oppression was inhuman mockery is rarely a part of mainstream education curriculum.
But 20 groups around the state, including in Oak Bluffs and East Falmouth, have taken steps through events and public discussions to get Douglass’ message out for the Independence Day holiday, and to show its relevance to Americans today.
Groups spotlight 1852 Frederick Douglass speech on slavery and July 4
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Groups spotlight 1852 Frederick Douglass speech on slavery and July 4
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M. Seaman Jul 1, 2021
(National Archives) Frederick Douglass, circa 1879 M. Seaman
Frederick Douglass must have chosen his words carefully, keeping his audience, the Ladiesâ Anti-Slavery Society of Rochester, New York, in mind. Reflecting on the founding of the nation 76 years earlier, with the bold declaration of independence from King George III, Douglass acknowledged that its signers had been âbraveâ and âgreat enough to give frame to a great age.â He talked of his respect for the âstatesmen, patriots and heroesâ who laid a foundation for a new country.
But Douglass also reflected that their Declaration of Independence did not hold the same meaning for his audience that day, July 5, 1852, at Rochesterâs Corinthian Hall, as it did for him or for people held in slavery. A free man who traveled and lectured in favor of abolition, Douglass spoke of his âsad sense off the disparity bet
Though he started life as a slave, Frederick Douglass became an abolitionist, orator, writer, statesman and ambassador. He liberated himself in 1838 and in 1845 published his first autobiography,
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, (The Anti-Slavery Office, 1845). The book, alongside his work for the abolitionist movement and the Underground Railroad, helped him become one of the most famous African American men of his era.
Born into slavery
Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey was born around February 1818, although no records exist of the exact date) in Talbot County, Maryland. His mother was sent away to another plantation when he was a baby, and he saw her only a handful of times in the dark of night, when she would walk 12 miles to visit him. She died when he was seven years old.