Library seeks readers for annual reading of Frederick Douglass speech

posted on 6/24/2024

The Dover Public Library will host a community reading of Frederick Douglass' speech "What to the Slave Is Your Fourth of July?" and seek readers to help deliver it. Readers and audience members are both needed to make this event a success.

The community reading is on Saturday, June 29 at 12 p.m. on the library's front lawn. In case of rain, it will be moved to the library's lecture hall. Readers should arrive no later than 11:50 p.m. to sign in and start lining up.

The abridged speech that Douglass delivered on July 5, 1852 in Rochester, New York, is broken up into 54 sections and takes about an hour to read. The goal of this reading is to create a dialogue on the meaning of the July 4th holiday, what it meant to the enslaved people then, and what it means to society today.

If you are interested in reading, please visit tinyurl.com/DoverFDRead to sign up.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Librarian Susan Dunker at s.dunker@dover.nh.gov.