July 2, 2024: What to a slave is the 4th of July

Frederick Douglas, formerly enslaved and freed, asked this question in 1852.  We used his question to discuss the Declaration of Independence and its relevance in 1776 and today.  The Declaration's second paragraph states, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.:  Yet we know these rights did not extend to the enslaved population in the colonies, nor did they extend to the indigenous, who were described in the Declaration as merciless Indian Savages, and were being slaughtered and their lands stolen for additional colonization.   Perhaps the unwritten truth of the Declaration was to break from England to allow further westward expansion and slavery?

We then asked, "what does the 4th of July mean in 2024 to the poor, the homeless, the hungry, the undocumented with no path to freedom, the prisoners who are still enslaved, to the dissenters, the whistleblowers the journalists?   What are the truths that need to be told on the 4thh of July?

Join us on the next Voices of Reason show on July 9 with local author Mary Nestor to discuss her recent book, Say It Now, Say It Right!