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“The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro”

Frederick Douglass The Life and Writings of Frederick Douglass, Volume II
Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass gave this speech in Rochester, New York on July 5, 1852. Some now give this speech the title, "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?"

Friday Nite Videos | February 25, 2022

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Critical Race Theory | John Oliver. How an Election Conspiracy Theory Led Back to Georgia Cops. Trump Is Guilty. Lincoln's Dilemma. The Fight for Anti-LGBTQ+ Rights in Arkansas | The Daily Show.

Lincoln's Dilemma

Jelani Cobb, an executive producer of Lincoln's Dilemma, and historian Kellie Carter Jackson discuss Lincoln's legacy, his relationship with abolitionist Frederick Douglass, and how the series relates to today.

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The Uneasy Alliance Between Frederick Douglass and White Abolitionists

William G. Thomas III New York Times
Douglass refused to cede the Constitution to the slaveholders. He insisted the Constitution did not sanction slavery, that natural law and the Constitution assured liberty, and political action would be necessary to destroy slavery and secure freedom

Frederick Douglass and American Empire in Haiti

Peter James Hudson Boston Review
Toward the end of his life, Frederick Douglass served briefly as U.S. ambassador to Haiti. The disastrous episode reveals much about the country’s long struggle for Black sovereignty while always under the threat of U.S. empire.

SPEECH: Frederick Douglass on John Brown, 1860

Frederick Douglas Black Agenda Report
In an 1860 speech commemorating radical abolitionist John Brown's raid on Harper’s Ferry, Frederick Douglass argued that slavery would only end if the slave owner feared the violent retribution of the enslaved.

Frederick Douglass Railed Against Economic Inequality

Frederick Douglass/Matt Karp Jacobin
The great abolitionist and former slave Frederick Douglass died 125 years ago. Today, Jacobin publishes never-before-transcribed articles from Frederick Douglass’ Paper denouncing capitalism and economic inequality.

Making ‘The Moment’ Now

Gwen McKinney The Washington Informer
"Moments come and moment pass. But you cannot freeze them if you do not seize them," is the theme of Gene Bruskin's musical exploration of Reconstruction when this nation had the chance to do the right thing. Like then, the moment is still now.
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