July 2023 | Reading: “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”

The life and works of Frederick Douglass continue to shape our understanding of America. A gifted orator and prescient writer, Douglass forces us to reckon with the legacy of slavery and the promises of democracy. One of the most celebrated orators of his day, Douglass’ powerful language, resolute denunciations of slavery and forceful examination of the Constitution challenge us to think about the histories we tell, the values they teach, and if our actions match our aspirations. To quote Douglass, “We have to do with the past only as we can make it useful to the future.”

Organizing partners: Princeton Public Library, Nassau Presbyterian Church and Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church Joint Mission Committee, Not In Our Town Princeton, Paul Robeson House of Princeton, McCarter Theater, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton.

Community partners: African American Cultural Collaborative of Mercer County, Arts Council of Princeton, Baha’is of Princeton, Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice, Bending the Moral Arc, CASA for Children of Mercer and Burlington, Coalition for Peace Action, First Baptist Church of Princeton, Historical Society of Princeton, I Am Trenton Community Foundation, The Jewish Center of Princeton, Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Make Us Visible New Jersey, Mass Incarceration Task Force, Mercer County Community College, Morningstar Church of God in Christ, Mount Pisgah AME Church, Municipality of Princeton, Muslim Center of Greater Princeton, Paul Robeson Charter School, Princeton Civil Rights Commission, PDS Black Alumni, Princeton Charter School, Princeton Middle School, Princeton Public Schools, Princeton Senior Resource Center, Princeton Union Baptist Church of Trenton, NAACP ACT SO, United Methodist Church, PU Office of Community and Regional Affairs, Trenton Literacy Movement, Trenton Spoken Word, Ujima Village Christian Church, United Mercer Interfaith Organization, Westminster Presbyterian Church. Witherspoon Jackson Historical and Cultural Society, Woman, Cradle of Abundance, WorkWell Partnership, YWCA of Princeton, YMCA of Princeton.

This event was recorded on July 5, 2023.

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