Over 200 years after Frederick Douglass questioned “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” in an act of resistance to Independence Day, Black Americans are still grappling with how to celebrate freedoms and liberties that haven’t been fully granted to them.

Friday (July 4) marks Independence Day, a federal holiday that commemorates the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the birth of a free America from Great Britain. The document, primarily authored by Thomas Jefferson, outlined the colonies’ reasons for seeking independence, noting inherent rights to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

The hypocrisy behind the celebration of the Fourth of July remains apparent, as not all Americans gained the “inherent rights” included in the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

Millions of Black Americans were enslaved at the time and denied “independence” and “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” core values celebrated every year on the holiday. Enslaved Black people weren’t legally free until nearly 100 years later, when Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in January 1863. Enslaved people in Texas didn’t learn of their freedom until over two years later, on June 19, 1865, which came months before the 13th Amendment officially abolished slavery in the U.S.

Despite their legal freedom, Black Americans still had to face systemic oppression, discrimination, and racism, which continue to have reverberating effects today.

Douglass, an abolitionist, orator, writer, and formerly enslaved person, addressed the hypocrisy of Independence Day on July 5, 1852, delivering a speech titled “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?”

Douglass was invited to address the citizens of his hometown, Rochester, New York, but defied the expectations of his audience to celebrate the 76th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Instead, he used the occasion to remind Americans of the millions of Black people still fighting for their freedom in this country.

In the speech, Douglass highlighted how enslaved people faced brutal conditions and dehumanization, a direct contradiction to the values outlined in the Declaration of Independence.

“Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us?” Douglass questioned.

Douglass’ speech remains relevant today as Black people continue to face police brutality, health disparities, attempted erasure of their history in schools, economic inequality, gentrification, and other systemic issues that go unaddressed by the current administration.

Many Black Americans decline to celebrate the Fourth of July, echoing Douglass’ act of resistance. Still, they use the federal holiday to spend time with family, barbecue, and engage in leisure activities, opting out of waving American flags and embracing themes of freedoms that weren’t granted to them in 1776.

On Saturday (July 5), Grafton, Massachusetts is hosting a public reading of Douglass’ speech to preserve the history and importance of the abolitionist’s words, per the Milford Daily News.

The event will take place at 6:30 p.m. on the Grafton Common, a site where Douglass previously spoke. Following the reading, attendees will discuss how to further Douglass’ vision for an equitable society.

Read Douglass’ full speech here.

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