I listened to and then watched a recording of five of Frederick Douglass's descendants reading excerpts of the speech he gave in 1852 called, What to a Slave is the Fourth of July? I was familiar with this scathing rebuke to Americans delivered 8 years before the Civil War began, but I was reminded of how wrenchingly relevant those words are today.
The readers were all kids between the ages of 13 and 20, and their voices perfectly fit Douglass's words, strong and rightfully condemning. I was spellbound listening, and I felt almost as if I knew them, and then I realized that they reminded me of so many students I have taught over my career-- smart, passionate, critical, and strong.
I can't wait to hear those voices, again.
The readers were all kids between the ages of 13 and 20, and their voices perfectly fit Douglass's words, strong and rightfully condemning. I was spellbound listening, and I felt almost as if I knew them, and then I realized that they reminded me of so many students I have taught over my career-- smart, passionate, critical, and strong.
I can't wait to hear those voices, again.
Thank you for the reminder and the link! Boy, I miss these voices, too.
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