What Frederick Douglass Can Still Teach Us About the Fourth of July

July 4 and the long tradition of US protest

Over the last two and a half centuries people in the US have used July 4 to make their stand against injustice, inequality, and oppression, and demand their rights. From an infamous speech by Frederick Douglass to women suffragists demanding the right to vote, civil rights protests, and a historic farm workers’ march, today we look at moments of July 4 resistance. This is episode 55 of Stories of Resistance—a podcast co-produced by The Real News…

FRANSEN: The Experiment Continues: Why Frederick Douglass’s Fourth of July Speech Still Matters – DV Journal

On July 4, 2026, the United States will celebrate the 250th anniversary of its founding, marked by the Continental Congress’s adoption of the Declaration

What Frederick Douglass can still teach us about the Fourth of July

Frederick Douglass was born into slavery, so he never knew the exact date of his birth, only that it occurred sometime in February 1818. This means that Douglass was only thirty-four years old when he delivered one of the greatest political speeches in American history. It was July 5, 1852. The setting was Rochester, New York's grand Corinthian Hall, and the occasion was a celebration of American Independence. Speaking that day before the mostly…

What to the Black American Is the Fourth of July?

Frederick Douglass’ words from 1852 still hit hard today—for many, July 4th isn’t a celebration. It’s a contradiction.

FRANSEN: Why Frederick Douglass’s Fourth of July Speech Still Matters

New Hampshire - FRANSEN: Why Frederick Douglass’s Fourth of July Speech Still Matters - NH Journal

Doing what we’ve been doing since July 4, 1776, evolving through political revolution

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Those are the most powerful 35 words ever strung together in the English language.