Frederick Douglass – who was born into slavery in Maryland’s tobacco fields and liberated himself at the age of 20 – was a legendary Massachusetts resident. We’re celebrating the famous abolitionist and stirring orator who drew crowds of thousands of listeners worldwide. JOIN US as we take turns reading aloud his blistering 1852 speech to the Rochester Ladies Anti-Slavery Society: “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July.”
Still bearing the physical scars of bondage – Douglass’s existence and his first-person account of the daily cruelty and violence perpetrated by enslavers who were also Christian men and upstanding citizens made it impossible for many to continue to turn a blind eye to slavery’s horrors.
The Anti-Slavery Society at the Corinthian Hall invited him to give a feel-good speech about progress and Douglass instead delivered a uniquely American call to justice, entrusting them with the unsparing truth he spent his lifetime overcoming and studying slavery was an abomination and all people had a moral call to join in ending it.
Douglass’s clarity and bravery ring through the years, echoing in this speech, that begins with admitting he was never so nervous to give a speech as he was on that day – which is surprising as Douglass had already both named the plantation he was enslaved on and the man who enslaved him, even though these admissions further endangered his physical safety and hard-won freedom.
The life and works of Frederick Douglass continues to shape our understanding of America. Douglass forces us to reckon with the legacy of slavery and the promises of democracy. To quote Douglass: “We have to do with the past only as we can make it useful to the future.”
Presented by the Norton Cultural Council and Mass Humanities, join us at the Norton Public Library Thursday, April 17th at 5:30 PM to raise our voices and read this amazing piece of history. Questions, email nortonmacc@gmail.com or sign up to be a reader.
