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Frederick Douglass
What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?
9781429095631
Regular price $12.95 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 248): Computation results in '-Infinity'%One of the most memorable speeches in American history, Frederick Douglass’s What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? is now available in an elegant hardcover edition.
Douglass first delivered the famous speech on July 5, 1852, to the Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society. After paying respect to the patriotic architects of America’s independence, Douglass exposed the hypocrisy of a nation that enshrined the inalienable rights of man yet enslaved millions. The signing of the Declaration of Independence was meaningless to slaves, Douglass argued, and the annual celebration of a freedom not afforded to them was the worst possible insult.
Throughout the speech, Douglass directly quoted passages from the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bible to support his argument that slavery must be abolished in the United States. Douglass was especially critical of the faith leaders in America that used the church to justify slavery rather than to spearhead positive societal change.
Despite Douglass’s condemnation of the institutions that protected slavery, the speech also emphasized America’s young age and her potential to change for the better. In keeping with this belief in an America that would one day guarantee freedom for all, Douglass delivered “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” to audiences nationwide in the decade preceding the Civil War.
Famous figures such as James Earl Jones, Morgan Freeman, and Douglass’s descendants have performed small sections of the hour-long speech. Abridged editions of the speech are also disseminated for educational purposes. Because “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” is an incredibly nuanced speech, it is often misrepresented or shared out of context. Now you can read the speech as it was meant to be experienced, in its entirety.
Frederick Douglass’s most famous speech is as relevant today as when it was first delivered in 1852. A defining document of the United States, What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? is essential reading for all Americans.
Victor Block
Black Life in Old New Orleans
9781589805644
Regular price $27.95 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 248): Computation results in '-Infinity'%People of African descent have shaped New Orleans from its earliest days into the vibrant city it is today. From the slaves and indentured servants who drained the swamps, erected the buildings, constructed the levees, and dug the canals to the Freedom Riders who fought for racial equality in a segregated South, New Orleans' history and black history in America are intricately connected.
Historian Keith Weldon Medley recounts the rich history of African and African-American cultural influence on one of America's most-beloved cities. This in-depth account is one of personal significance for the author, who was raised in New Orleans' Faubourg Marigny and whose family history is tied to the area. Through fifteen self-contained chapters, Medley takes a chronological and focused look at some of New Orleans' most prominent people and places.
Rife with detailed histories of Faubourg Trem�, Congo Square, and many other pivotal locations, Medley's subjects include the Mardi Gras Indians, the Zulu Parade, and Louis Armstrong and his upbringing in black Storyville. Tales of many other prominent New Orleanians also fill the pages, such as educator and civic leader Fannie C. Williams, founder of the People's Defense League Ernest Wright, and civil rights attorney A.P. Tureaud.
