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Reading: “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”
July 5, 2023 @ 7:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Free
Community members read an amended version of Frederick Douglass’ influential speech, given on July 5, 1852, in Rochester, New York, to the Rochester Ladies Anti-Slavery Society.
To register, please click on this Google form.
The life and works of Frederick Douglass continue to shape our understanding of America. A gifted orator and prescient writer, Douglass forces us to reckon with the legacy of slavery and the promises of democracy. One of the most celebrated orators 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.”