Newton Free Library (330 Homer Street, Newton Centre) presents Reading Frederick Douglass Together on Wednesday, July 29 at 6:30PM.
Come gather in community to read and discuss Frederick Douglass’ famous address, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” At Reading Frederick Douglass Together, attendees will read, listen to, and reflect on the speech in an interactive program facilitated by Newton Families Organizing for Racial Justice (FORJ).
This program will feature readings of Douglass’s anti-slavery address by community members, followed by a facilitated discussion with Dr. Melissa Berry-Woods, connecting Douglass’s denunciations of slavery and forceful examination of the Constitution with contemporary lived experiences of people across the city.
Among the readers will be City and State elected officials, scholars, and community leaders, including Tamika Olszewski (Newton School Committee), Randy Johnson (Newton Parks & Recreation Commission), and Dr. Melissa Berry-Woods (Bunker Hill Community College). All are invited to add their voice!
You are welcome to volunteer to read, participate in the discussion, or attend to listen and reflect. No registration is needed to attend the event. If you want to read a portion of the speech aloud, you can sign up to be a reader. After you sign up, members of FORJ will reach out to you with the portion of the address you will be reading and advice on presenting your portion of the speech. However you participate, attendees are encouraged to reflect together on the themes of the speech.