What the Fourth of July Still Asks of Us
In 1852, Frederick Douglass stood before the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society and posed a question that still echoes: what does Independence Day mean to those who were never free to celebrate it?
fourth of july
The History of 4th of July and Black Americans
Throughout the 1800s, Black Americans used the July Fourth to argue for emancipation and full citizenship, making the case that Black citizens – free and enslaved – had as much right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as white people.