Reading Frederick Douglass Together JP

The Jamaica Plain community is invited to gather together to read and talk about Frederick Douglass’s influential address, What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? Find the text online here.

After escaping slavery in 1838, the famous abolitionist lived for many years in Massachusetts. The most celebrated orator of his day, Douglass’ denunciations of slavery and forceful examination of the Constitution challenge us to think about the stories we tell and don’t tell, the ideas that they teach or don’t teach, and the gaps between our actions and aspirations. To quote Douglass: “We have to do with the past only as we can make it useful to the future.”

A set of readers will each read a designated section of the speech out loud to participants. Then the community is invited to enjoy refreshments and conversation after the reading is complete.

Co-sponsors include: First Baptist Church of Jamaica Plain, Centre-South Main Streets, and the Jamaica Plain Tuesday Club.

This program is funded in part by a grant Mass Humanities, which receives support from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and is an state-based affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.