Rob Pegoraro on Mythryl: “If you want* to read Frederick Douglass's speech "What to the Slave…”

If you want* to read Frederick Douglass's speech "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?"--a clear-eyed yet profoundly hopeful inspection of the gap between U.S. ideals and U.S. reality--you can read it as it was first published at the Internet Archive. * Yes, you do.

archive.orgFrederick Douglass' "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?" speech : Frederick Douglass : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet ArchiveFirst publication of Douglass' famous speech.ORATION, DELIVERED IN CORINTHIAN HALL, ROCHESTER, BY FREDERICK DOUGLASS, JULY 5TH, 1852.Published by...

Omar Wasow@owasow.bsky.social

In July of 1852, Frederick Douglass delivered one of the greatest speeches in US history. Today it’s often presented in abridged form, though, and skips what seems like a long-winded introduction. If you read the intro closely, however, there’s an ingenious structure. THREAD👇🏽

4/7/25, 7:27 pm51 reposts88 likes

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