Frederick Douglass' descendants recite his famous speech about July 4th
Race And Racism,Holidays,History,Fourth Of July,General News
(CNN)For the Fourth of July, Frederick Douglass' descendants read excerpts of his famous speech, "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?"
Douglass, an abolitionist who fought for social reform in the 1800s, delivered the speech on July 5, 1852 at an Independence Day celebration, pointing out the hypocrisy in the holiday and in the Founding Fathers' ideals.
On Saturday, five of Douglass' descendants -- Douglass Washington Morris II, 20, Isidore Dharma Douglass Skinner, 15, ZoΓ« Douglass Skinner, 12, Alexa Anne Watson, 19 and Haley Rose Watson, 17 -- recited the speech in a short film for NPR.
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