Community Reading of Frederick Douglass’ July 5 Speech

The Marblehead Racial Justice Team (MRJT) will continue its Conversations on Race series of events with a community reading of Frederick Douglass’ July 5th speech as supported by a grant to the MJRT from the Mass Humanities Council, which sponsors numerous readings of the speech throughout the state. Registration is required to attend in person or via Zoom - please register at tinyurl.com/Douglass-Reading. After registering for Zoom, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting online. A gifted orator and prescient writer, the life and works of Frederick Douglass continue to shape our understanding of America and force us to reckon with the legacy of slavery. After escaping slavery in 1838, Frederick Douglass, the famous abolitionist, lived for many years in Massachusetts. The most celebrated orator of his day, Douglass’ denunciations of slavery and forceful examination of the Constitution challenge us to think about the stories we tell and don’t tell, the ideas that they teach or don’t teach, and the gaps between our actions and aspirations. To quote Douglass: “We have to do with the past only as we can make it useful to the future.” At each event, people take turns reading parts of the speech until it is completed. Following the reading, there will be a community discussion to ask audience members to draw on their own experiences to consider the meaning of the speech in the past and its resonances in the present, especially with respect to feeling othered in Marblehead. MRJT is seeking volunteer readers for this event. If you are interested, please email [email protected] by Nov. 1 to make arrangements. T-shirts will be provided to all readers. MRJT is a community organization dedicated to dismantling racism in Marblehead and in the larger world. This program is funded by Mass Humanities, which receives support from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and is an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Mass Humanities, a non-profit foundation based in Northampton, creates opportunities for the people of Massachusetts to transform their lives and build a more equitable commonwealth through the humanities. Since its founding in 1974, the organization has provided millions of dollars in support of thousands of humanities projects across the Commonwealth. Established as the state-based affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), Mass Humanities is an independent programming and grantmaking organization that receives support from the NEH and the Massachusetts Cultural Council as well as private sources. For more information, visit www.masshumanities.org.

Event Links

Website: https://go.evvnt.com/2706869-0

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