Descendants of Frederick Douglas Read Excerpts of His "Fourth of July Speech"

The U.S. celebrates this Independence Day amid nationwide protests and calls for systemic reforms. In this short film, five young descendants of Frederick Douglass read and respond to excerpts of his famous speech, "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" which asks all of us to consider America's long history of denying equal rights to Black Americans.

On July 4, people gather throughout Massachusetts and other parts of the country to read this famous speech.  Read the whole speech here.