The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro by Frederick Douglass Corinthian Hall, Rochester, Rochester, New York July 5, 1852 Mr. President, Friends and Fellow Citizens: He who could address this audience without a quailing sensation, has stronger nerves than I have. I do not remember ever to have appeared as a speaker before any assembly more “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro” Speech given by Frederick Douglass on the 4th July 1852. Summary of Speech Douglass criticises the Fourth of July Celebrations because the ideals of the American Revolution – freedom, equality, dignitiy and pursuit of happiness were denied to African Americans. The 4th of July is the first great fact in your nation's history-the very ringbolt in the chain of your yet undeveloped destiny. Pride and patriotism, not less than gratitude, prompt you to celebrate and to hold it in perpetual remembrance. This, for the purpose of this celebration, is the Fourth of July. It is the birth day of your National Independence, and of your political freedom. This, to you, as what the Passover was to the emancipated people of God. In this short film, five young descendants of Frederick Douglass read and respond to excerpts of his famous speech, "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" which asks all of us to consider America's long history of denying equal rights to Black Americans. Among Frederick Douglass’ best known speeches is “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro” — with a message that still resonates 167 years later. Douglass proved he was not the typical Independence Day Antebellum orator when he spoke before an audience in Rochester, New York, on July 5, 1852. On July 5, 1852, Douglass gave a speech at an event commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence, held at Rochester’s Corinthian Hall. It was biting oratory, in which the speaker told his audience, “This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn.” A collection of more than a dozen people’s history stories from July 4th beyond 1776. The stories include July 4th anniversaries such as when slavery was abolished in New York (1827), Frederick Douglass’s speech “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro” (1852), the Reconstruction era attack on a Black militia that led to the Hamburg Massacre (1876), protest of segregation at an 60 What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer; a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham8; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your This, for the purpose of this celebration, is the 4th of July. It is the birthday of your National Independence, and of your political freedom. This, to you, is what the Passover was to the emancipated people of God. It carries your minds back to the day, and to the act of your great deliverance. "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro" I answer; a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him On July 5, 1852, abolitionist and ex-slave Frederick Douglass gave a speech at an event commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence, held at Rochester, New York's Corinthian Hall. It was biting oratory, in which the speaker told his audience, "This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn." July 5, 1852 Fellow Citizens, I am not wanting in respect for the fathers of this republic. The signers of the Declaration of Independence were brave men. They were great men, too Ñ great enough to give frame to a great age. It does not often happen to a nation to raise, at one time, [] "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro" 1852: During the 1850s, Frederick Douglass typically spent about six months of the year travelling extensively, giving lectures. During one winter On July 5, 1852, in Rochester, New York, he gave one of his most famous speeches, “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro.” He was addressing the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society. The Meaning of the Fourth of July for the Negro . Abridged* Frederick Douglass . July 5, 1852. 1 Mr. President, Friends and Fellow Citizens: The task before me is one which requires much previous thought and study for its proper performance. The papers and placards say, that I am to deliver a 4th [of] July oration. This "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro" By Frederick Douglass July 5, 1852 Rochester, New York Fellow Citizens, I am not wanting in respect for the fathers of this republic. The signers of the Declaration of Independence were brave men. They were great men, too great enough to give frame to a great age. What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?" What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? " [1][2] was a speech delivered by Frederick Douglass on July 5, 1852, at Corinthian Hall in Rochester, New York, at a meeting organized by the Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society. [3] In the address, Douglass states that positive statements about perceived American values, such as liberty, citizenship, and The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro by Frederick Douglass A speech given at Rochester, New York, July 5, 1852 Mr. President, Friends and Fellow Citizens: He who could address this audience without a quailing sensation, has stronger nerves than I have. Above “your national, tumultuous joy” — the July 4th celebrations of white Americans — were the “mournful wails of millions” whose heavy chains “are, today, rendered more intolerable by the
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