Reading Frederick Douglass

Mass Humanities' Reading Frederick Douglass Together program started with a first public reading of Frederick Douglass’ famous Fourth of July address, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” on Boston Common in 2009. Since then, the event has been organized annually, with communities and organizations around the state. The program won the Federation of State Humanities Councils' Helen and Martin Schwartz Prize for “Best Overall Program”  in 2012.

What is Reading Frederick Douglass?

A group of people take turns reading parts of the speech until they have read all of it.  Download the speech: Douglass July 5 1852 (Abridged to 5370 words)

This year marks the 200th anniversary of Douglass' birth. We have a ways to go, not just on civil rights, but on successfully incorporating into our social contract that human beings come in all sorts of colors and backgrounds, none of which make them intrinsically different in value. Reading Frederick Douglass is still going strong. Organize a reading and apply for funding from Mass Humanities!

One person shows up with a poster.

Another with a mike.

A third with a stack of speeches.

Soon, people line up to read paragraphs
from Frederick Douglass’ most famous speech
and the public square is filled with others reading along.

Soon after that, they are actually talking to each other.

It can happen.
It is going to happen.
Experience the power of the word.

Reading Frederick Douglass

A Collaborative project

The project is collaborative in all ways. Mass Humanities organizes readings with groups of organizations in various cities around the commonwealth, where the project seeks to create local collaborations.  Mass Humanities offers fiscal support as well as practical resources: discussion materials, speeches, discussion guides, PR guides.

I ran the project until 2015; did the research for the annual focus of the program; supported the creation of local collaborative groups in Boston, Lynn, New Bedford, Pittsfield, Springfield, and Worcester; wrote articles and PR materials; edited the speech to various lengths, created the discussion guides and online resources; and I moderated events and discussions. I still do the latter.

RFD Discussion Guide (2014)

Caption: Powerful,” Gerard Grimes said. A Civil War reenactor with the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, Grimes was dressed in his blue, wool Union uniform as he read the second paragraph of Douglass’s speech. “I never heard that speech before. It’s something that’s going to be embedded in my mind.” (Boston Globe, July 1, 2011)

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