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VIDEO: Frederick Douglass' descendants deliver his 'Fourth of July' speech

NPR

Published July 3, 2020 at 5:05 AM EDT

In the summer of 2020, the U.S. commemorated Independence Day amid nationwide protests for racial justice and systemic reforms in the wake of George Floyd's death. That June, we asked five young descendants of Frederick Douglass to read and respond to excerpts of his famous speech, "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?". It's a powerful, historical text that reminds us of the ongoing work of liberation.

A text version of the full speech is available here.

This video was inspired by Jennifer Crandall's documentary project "Whitman, Alabama." Visit whitmanalabama.com.