By: Alex L.
On July 5, 1852 in Rochester, New York, ex-slave and abolitionist, Frederick Douglass delivered a speech before the Rochester Antislavery Sewing Society. In his speech he asks his audience “What, to the American slave is your 4th of July?” One hundred fifty-eight years later I ask my readers what, to the African American in 2010 is the 4th of July? To us it’s running off to someone’s cookout, party or to see fireworks amongst a large group of people. Is that what the holiday is really about? No, but overtime Americans as a whole have created different ways to celebrate the independence of America. But as for African Americans our independence hasn’t truly come. So what are we celebrating for?
I think Frederick Douglass’s message in his speech at Corinthian Hall answers that question. Although it may be a historic and a bit dated answer there are many passages that can still be applied today. Douglass didn’t think that the 4th of July was a holiday to be celebrated by Blacks, he felt we had nothing to celebrate in a society where the objective to was to keep Blacks inferior to the whites in which the holiday was intended for in the first place. Keep in mind that in 1852 the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 wasn’t passed for another 11 years and in turn, slavery was still legal in most southern states. Douglass most poignant passage in his speech states:
What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer; a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sound of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciation of tyrants brass fronted impudence; your shout of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanks-givings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are to him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy -- a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of the United States, at this very hour.
Being a Black woman first and an American second, after reading this it made me think about the importance of the holidays we celebrate as a race and a nation and consequently why we celebrate them. Even though we all enjoy having a long weekend and that one day off from work and school its vital to know the importance of this holiday (and any other holiday for that matter) and once you find out the story behind it you may think twice about why you’re celebrating it. As Frederick Douglass put it, “This Fourth of July is yours not mine.”
On July 5, 1852 in Rochester, New York, ex-slave and abolitionist, Frederick Douglass delivered a speech before the Rochester Antislavery Sewing Society. In his speech he asks his audience “What, to the American slave is your 4th of July?” One hundred fifty-eight years later I ask my readers what, to the African American in 2010 is the 4th of July? To us it’s running off to someone’s cookout, party or to see fireworks amongst a large group of people. Is that what the holiday is really about? No, but overtime Americans as a whole have created different ways to celebrate the independence of America. But as for African Americans our independence hasn’t truly come. So what are we celebrating for?
I think Frederick Douglass’s message in his speech at Corinthian Hall answers that question. Although it may be a historic and a bit dated answer there are many passages that can still be applied today. Douglass didn’t think that the 4th of July was a holiday to be celebrated by Blacks, he felt we had nothing to celebrate in a society where the objective to was to keep Blacks inferior to the whites in which the holiday was intended for in the first place. Keep in mind that in 1852 the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 wasn’t passed for another 11 years and in turn, slavery was still legal in most southern states. Douglass most poignant passage in his speech states:
What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer; a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sound of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciation of tyrants brass fronted impudence; your shout of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanks-givings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are to him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy -- a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of the United States, at this very hour.
Being a Black woman first and an American second, after reading this it made me think about the importance of the holidays we celebrate as a race and a nation and consequently why we celebrate them. Even though we all enjoy having a long weekend and that one day off from work and school its vital to know the importance of this holiday (and any other holiday for that matter) and once you find out the story behind it you may think twice about why you’re celebrating it. As Frederick Douglass put it, “This Fourth of July is yours not mine.”
To read the full speech click here: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h2927t.html
i think the quote “What, to the American slave is your 4th of July?” ...speaks a thousand words. your right what are we as black people celebrating b/c we were never liberated. The 4th has just become a reason to buy a cute outfit and party. The definition means nothing to us.
ReplyDeletethat's my one of my favorite speeches, it makes me think not just of the 4th of july but all holidays. People have no idea what they're celebrating or why they're celebrating it! and im not being ex-patriotic but I'd rather celebrate and understand it than to celebrate it at all.
ReplyDeleteExactly! Knowledge is truly power
ReplyDelete