'What
to the Slave is the Fourth of July' is a speech by Frederick
Douglass, born in 1818. He lived a slave until 1838, when he escaped.
The main point of this speech is that,
while white Americans celebrate freedom in the 4th of July, black
Americans- more specifically, the slaves- do not know such freedom and are the
victims of barbaric oppression.
Though nowadays slavery no longer
legally exists, this system of oppression is still affecting the black people
of the United States (and of the world). For this reason, we consider many
arguments used in this speech to be extremely relevant in the present times.
Our presentation consists mainly on establishing a parallel between what was
said in this speech and the reality of today’s America.
In his speech, Douglass separates himself from
his audience and from the nation by using “you” whenever referring to them. He
makes it very clear that he doesn’t consider himself to be included.
Daveed Diggs, an African-american rapper and actor who played the role
of Thomas Jefferson in the musical Hamilton,
said the following: “[the show
'Hamilton'] gives us a sense of ownership over a country we have often felt
excluded from”
On the
Fourth of July, when the free, white Americans celebrated freedom, slaves were
made particularly aware of the fact that they were not, in fact, free. This
free America excluded them. Today, black people, conscious of their heritage
and aware of the way America treats black people, still find it difficult to
feel included in its History.
“To say now that America was right and England
was wrong is exceedingly easy. Everybody can say it. The dastard, not less than
the noble brave, can flippantly discant on the tyranny of England towards the
American Colonies. It is fashionable to do so. But there was a time when to
pronounce against England and in favor of the cause of the colonies tried men’s
souls. They who did so were accounted in their day plotters of mischief,
agitators and rebels, dangerous men.”- Douglass
Colin Kaepernic, an NFL player, chose to kneel down and stay silent
during the national anthem preceding a match, in protest of the way black
Americans are treated. Donald Trump had this to say about his protests: “I have followed it and I think it’s personally not a good
thing. I think it’s a terrible thing, and you know, maybe he should find a
country that works better for him. Let him try – it won’t happen.”
Those who stand up against oppression are
labelled "dangerous men". Those who fought for the American freedom
were considered rebels. Abolitionists were considered rebels. Today, some think
racism no longer exists. However, when one person decides to do something as
simple as sit down during the National Anthem to protest against the death of
innocent black people, he is considered a traitor of his own country. This goes
to show that not much has changed.
“But I fancy I hear someone of my audience say,
it is just in this circumstance that you and your brother abolitionists fail to
make a favorable impression on the public mind. Would you argue more and
denounce less, would you persuade more and rebuke less, your cause would be
much more likely to succeed.”- Douglass
“When a
system itself has dismissed human rights, such a structure is deserving of disruption.
A society, which continually condones the murders of innocent men and women,
cannot be accepted and excused for its wrongdoings (…). When America is more
outraged by the protesters who stop traffic than by the deaths of unarmed black
men and women, we’ve got a bigger problem on our hands.”- Rini Sampath, Why Tone Policing Protests Isn’t Helping America, Huffingpost
Tone policing essentially means to tell someone
else that their way of protesting or complaining is wrong. Oppressed groups are
often accused of taking things out of proportion, and that is the case with
Black Live Matters protesters.
“What
is this but the acknowledgment that the slave is a moral, intellectual and
responsible being? The manhood of the slave is conceded. It is admitted in the
fact that Southern statute books are covered with enactments forbidding, under
severe fines and penalties, the teaching of the slave to read or to write.”-
Douglass
“To say
black people have made progress would be to say that they deserve what happened
to them before. So, to say Obama is progress is saying that he’s the first
black person that’s qualified to be president. That’s not black progress.
That’s white progress. There’s been black people qualified to be president for
hundreds of years.”- Chris Rock
The points being made by Douglass and Chris
Rock are very similar. Throughout history, it has been common for black people
to be left out of certain opportunities with the excuse that, for some reason,
they would not be as able as white people. However, Douglass’s argument exposes
how contradictory this is: black people were in fact less able to do certain
things, but only because they weren’t allowed to have a proper education. Chris
Rock says something similar: he explains that it wasn’t because black people
were more able now that Obama became president, but because white people became
more acceptant of the possibility of a black president.
These are
some of the many similarities we found between Douglass’s speech and today’s
America. It helped us understand that, although America has changed
drastically, as well as the situation of black Americans, since this speech was
conceded, racism and oppression still plague the country, even if it has taken
different forms.
