Amy Goodman
Amy Goodman
@DemocracyNow·3.2M subscribers·19.4K videos

"What to the Slave is 4th of July?": James Earl Jones Reads Frederick Douglass’ Historic Speech

Posted

July 3, 2015

Views

65,868

Likes

986

Comments

83

Engagement

1.62%

Search the Record

Indexed

Every word spoken in this episode is indexed. Type any phrase to jump straight to the moment it was said.

Type any word or phrase that may have been spoken. Click a result to seek the player to that exact moment.

Try a name, a topic, or a quoted line

YouTube Description

as posted by the channel

In a Fourth of July holiday special, we begin with the words of Frederick Douglass. Born into slavery around 1818, Douglass became a key leader of the abolitionist movement. 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 Antislavery Society. This is actor James Earl Jones reading the speech during a performance of historian Howard Zinn’s acclaimed book, "Voices of a People’s History of the United States." He was introduced by Zinn.

Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs weekdays on 1,300+ TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Watch our livestream 89am ET

Please consider supporting independent media by making a donation to Democracy Now! today

FOLLOW DEMOCRACY NOW! ONLINE:

Daily Email

Stitcher Radio

Guests & Subjects Covered

Frederick Douglass BornOn JulyRochester New YorkThe MeaningJuly FourthNegro HeJames Earl JonesHoward Zinns

Sentinel Indexing in Progress

Metadata and chapters are available. Claim extraction for this episode is pending.

All video content is delivered via YouTube embedded players in accordance with the YouTube Terms of Service. Sentinel provides research tools that promote discovery and accountability across political media.