Black St. Louisans reflect on America at 250
Black residents weigh Douglass’s warning against signs of progress, including rising college attainment and Black-owned businesses, as the nation marks 250 years.
- As the United States marks its 250th anniversary, Frederick Douglass's 1852 speech remains a vital historical lens for Black Americans examining the gap between founding ideals and lived reality.
- Recent surveys reveal complex sentiments about independence; nearly 60% of Black Americans believe Founding Fathers' ideals are disconnected from reality, while 77% of all Americans think the founders would be disappointed today.
- Individual perspectives vary sharply; business founder Dawn Wise called the holiday a "celebration the colonizers put on us," while Marlon Wharton with Gentlemen of Vision urges keeping "dollars inside our communities."
- Systemic challenges persist; Black Americans account for more than one-third of the incarcerated population despite being roughly 13% of the U.S. population, while voting rights protections face ongoing legal scrutiny.
- Despite persistent barriers, resilience drives measurable progress; nearly 28% of Black adults earned bachelor's degrees by 2024, and Black-owned employer businesses surged 62% between 2017 and 2023.
16 Articles
16 Articles
Frederick Douglass Said 'This Fourth Of July Is Yours, Not Mine' In 1852 - Here's Why His Speech Still Hits Today
Source: Photo 12 / Getty – Frederick Douglass’ Fourth Of July speech. For many Americans, the Fourth of July is synonymous with fireworks, backyard barbecues, and celebrating the nation’s independence. For many Black families, the holiday is also a time to gather with loved ones, honor tradition, and create joyful memories. But as grills fire up and families reunite this Independence Day, the words of abolitionist Frederick Douglass’s iconic 185…
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Flopping AcesWhat to the Black American is the 250th Fourth of July?
Source: kali9 / Getty For the past few years on social media (maybe since Juneteenth started becoming a thing and a national holiday outside of Texas), each Fourth of July I’ve been seeing articles and posts promoting Frederick Douglass’ “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” speech. It was an important speech for...
Black St. Louisans reflect on America at 250
“What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” Those were the words of abolitionist, orator and writer, Frederick Douglass. He delivered them during his July 5, 1852 speech in Rochester, New York. Although slavery ended in 1865, 161 years later, Douglass’ question is still relevant to the descendants of a nation founded in slavery. What should America’s 250th anniversary mean to Black America? Should it be collectively celebrated or independently i…
From Chains to Change: Frederick Douglass’ Question Still Echoes Across America’s 250-Year Journey – Free Press of Jacksonville
By Sylvia Perry JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — When abolitionist Frederick Douglass rose to speak on July 5, 1852, he did not come to celebrate America’s independence. He came to confront it. Standing before the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society in Rochester, New York, Douglass delivered one of the most powerful speeches in American history, asking a question that continues to reverberate nearly two centuries later: “What to the Slave Is the Fourth o…
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