bradsaptblog

For this post, I would like to discuss Douglass's speech regarding the Fourth of July. I very much enjoyed it, for I have never looked at that holiday through the eyes of a people not free. July 4th would be the ultimate slap-in-the-face to those enslaved as its a day where American's celebrate their Independence. Douglass illustrates wonderfully the true feelings of the black man at a time when they had absolutely no rights, which is impossible for me reading it to truly understand. All I and others can do is read his words and learn from them. We must not only learn about the good in our past, but also that mistakes made by our fore-fathers. His descriptions of the physical torments and injustices that slaves had to go through were nauseating, and the section where he blames man for slavey saying it is not the will of God to do something like this was very interesting. This speech reminded me of those Martin Luther King gave a century earlier, and that comparison is a compliment to both men.

-Brad