Community Reading of Frederick Douglass Speech, July 5

Source: South Congregational Church Arts and Social Justice Committee

A community reading of Frederick Douglass’s “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” speech, hosted by South Congregational Church, 1066 South East Street, as part of its 200th Anniversary Arts and Social Justice Series and its Reunion Week celebration, will take place on the South Amherst Common July 5, 3-5 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

The Amherst Area Gospel Choir, directed by Jaqueline Wallace, will lead off the program. Then, Amilcar Shabazz, Professor of African American Studies at UMass will introduce the speech with a talk entitled “Deal Justly with Us: Douglass and Reparations Now!”

Participants from the area will take turns reading paragraphs of the speech, which was first heard on July 5, 1852, when abolitionist and orator Frederick Douglass gave the keynote address at an Independence Day celebration held at Corinthian Hall in Rochester, New York. Community members of all ages are encouraged to volunteer in advance as readers.

The afternoon event will also include small-groups discussions of the speech, refreshments, and a free distribution of books authored by Douglass and other important African American writers. Free transportation to and from the South Amherst Common is available on request.

To learn more about the reading, volunteer as a reader, and/or request transportation, visit tinyurl.com/RFDT2024, call 413-253-2977, or email office@amherstsouthchurch.org.

The program is supported by a grant from Mass Humanities’ Reading Frederick Douglass Together series, which receives support from the Massachusetts Cultural Council. The League of Women Voters of Amherst has also provided financial support for this community event.