GREENFIELD — In 1852, Frederick Douglass took the stand at Corinthian Hall in Rochester, New York, to give the keynote speech at the city’s Independence Day celebrations.
Now, 174 years later, his words and reflections from “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” still have an impact.
Incarcerated individuals and staff at the Franklin County Jail and House of Correction were joined by representatives from Mass Humanities, a nonprofit supporting programs and resources that promote civics education and discourse, earlier this month for an abridged reading of Douglass’ speech and a reflection on how his messages still hold meaning today.
“Frederick Douglass is still so important to who we are,” said Lisa Reilly, owner of the Northampton-based XVI Media, which worked with Mass Humanities and the Sheriff’s Office to organize the reading.
Interim Sheriff Lori Streeter said correctional facilities are places where conversations about accountability and justice matter, and where people can learn about historical injustices and how they relate to today’s events. She hoped having staff and inmates read the speech together would help them understand how history impacts their lives.
“Frederick Douglass knew the power of words,” Streeter added.
Douglass was an abolitionist, orator and writer who was born into slavery in 1818. He escaped slavery in Maryland in 1838 and joined the abolitionist movement in Massachusetts and New York.
“When he did this speech, the Fugitive Slave Act was very active and very real. … At any point, he could have been snatched off the podium and be returned to slavery,” said Latoya Bosworth, a program officer with Mass Humanities. “He still told his story.”
Bosworth said Douglass taught himself to read and write, and went on to write autobiographies telling the story of what it was like to be an enslaved person in America.
In “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” Douglass calls out the hypocrisy of a nation celebrating its independence and freedom while continuing to enslave millions. Slavery would continue to be legal in America until 1865, when the 13th Amendment was ratified.
“The blessings in which you, this day, rejoice, are not enjoyed in common. The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not me. The sunlight that brought life and healing to you, has brought stripes and death to me,” Douglass wrote. “This Fourth [of] July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn. … Fellow citizens; above your tumultuous joy, I hear the mournful wail of millions. Whose chains, heavy and grievous yesterday, are today, rendered more intolerable by the jubilee shouts that reach them.”
This Fourth [of] July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn.”
Frederick Douglass, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”
Bosworth called Douglass both a national hero and a Massachusetts hero for his efforts to tell his story, and she hopes he serves as an inspiration to others.
“You have a story and your story is important,” Bosworth told the small crowd of inmates who gathered in the yard for the reading.
Bosworth invited inmates and staff to speak on what the reading meant to them, and what they would say if they could talk to Douglass. They said they would thank Douglass for his efforts, and that while the world has changed a lot, much remains the same in 2026. Hypocrisy continues, they said, largely through systemic classism and continued bigotry.
Several inmates said that while they had heard of Douglass before, they did not have a thorough understanding of who he was and what he did. After learning more, they found his story inspiring.
“I’m in awe of people with that kind of intelligence,” Jennifer Abeles, director of education at the Sheriff’s Office, said of Douglass. “He found the courage to come from that background, where he was told he was nothing. It’s often the people who suffer the worst oppressions who become our teachers.”
Reilly, who recorded the readings for her podcast “The Hustler Files,” said that by hearing inmates’ stories, people can learn about what factors and influences led them to make the decisions they made that resulted in their incarceration, and further work that could help prevent incarceration in the future.
“It’s only through hearing your stories,” Reilly said, “that we can address the factors that impacted you.”
