"What, to an American Slave, is your Fourth of July? To him, your celebration is a sham; ... your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery...."
In 1852, Frederick Douglass spoke these words to express the sentiments of the American Slave to an audience observing Independence Day. When the entirety of Douglass’ speech appeared in The Nation in 2012, Dave Zirin introduced it with these words:
“What to the Slave is the Fourth July?” by Frederick Douglass is not only a brilliant work of oratory. It speaks to our every frustration spurred by the gap between the ideals of the United States and the reality we witness every day; between the Bill of Rights and our decaying civil liberties; between the USA’s international declarations of human rights and the ordered drone attacks backed by presidential “kill lists”; between the words “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” and a nation that leads the world in jailing its own citizens; between our highest ideals and our darkest realities. Here’s hoping people take the time to read the entirety of Douglass’s brilliant speech; even though his were words that spoke directly to his moment in history, they still ring with an unsettling power. As Douglass says: “Had I the ability, and could I reach the nation’s ear, I would today pour out a fiery stream of biting ridicule, blasting reproach, withering sarcasm, and stern rebuke. For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake.”
Words for our times. Once again.
This morning, I received an email from Ben Jealous that further contextualized Douglass’ speech:
With so many in bondage today -- from families separated in immigration detention, to the epidemic of mass incarceration -- we can't forget these words. I know I never have.
Today we celebrate freedom and all that America has accomplished in extending liberty and equality, but we cannot forget those who are still striving for it right here at home. What, to those still in bondage, is Independence Day?