As the Fourth of July approaches next week, some communities are taking the opportunity to talk about a more complicated perspective on the holiday.
This Saturday at noon, about 20 communities across the state are hosting simultaneous readings of “What to the Slave Is Your Fourth of July?” — a historic speech delivered by Frederick Douglass in 1852.
In the speech, Douglass — who escaped slavery to become a leading abolitionist — condemned the country’s hypocrisy as it celebrated its independence and democratic ideals while millions of Black Americans remained enslaved.
“I say it with a sad sense of the disparity between us. I am not included within the pale of glorious anniversary! Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us,” he told a crowd gathered in Rochester, New York.
For Dariya Steele, a program assistant at the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire who’s been helping organize this event for a few years, Douglass’s words are still relevant today.
“He talks about the hypocrisy of our Founding Fathers and their ideals of freedom and liberty for all while they are actively excluding a lot of people who made this country what it is,” she said. “We find that a lot of people in our communities really also resonate with that.”
Steele says this is also a chance for communities across the state to do the same thing at the same time.
“It's just a way for us all to be connected in that one moment and reflecting on the history, the true history behind this holiday,” she said.
A full list of participating communities can be found at blackheritagetrailnh.org
