Why July 5th Is One Of The Blackest Days Of The Year
Black History Year
PushBlack
4.6 • 2.2K Ratings
🗓️ 4 October 2023
⏱️ 3 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Historically, July 4th, 1776, represents American freedom, but what about the enslaved Black people during that time? Should they have celebrated the independence of their oppressors?
_____________
2-Minute Black History is produced by PushBlack, the nation's largest non-profit Black media company. PushBlack exists to amplify the stories of Black history you didn't learn in school. You make PushBlack happen with your contributions at BlackHistoryYear.com — most people donate $10 a month, but every dollar makes a difference. If this episode moved you, share it with your people! Thanks for supporting the work.
The production team for this podcast includes Cydney Smith, Len Webb, and Lilly Workneh. Our editors are Lance John and Avery Phillips from Gifted Sounds Network. Julian Walker serves as executive producer.
To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Historically, July 4, 1776 represents American freedom, but what about the enslaved black people |
| 0:10.6 | during that time? |
| 0:12.4 | Should they have celebrated the independence of barrel presses? |
| 0:16.8 | This is two-minute black history, what you didn't learn in school. |
| 0:29.3 | It was 1852, and the free black people who lived in New York gathered in the wake |
| 0:35.1 | of a July 4 celebration. |
| 0:37.8 | There was a problem that they couldn't let rest. |
| 0:41.5 | Black people down south were still enslaved, and some free blacks were at risk of re-inslavement |
| 0:47.8 | under the newly passed fugitive slave act of 1850. |
| 0:52.6 | Regardless of geography, all of us were still considered property. |
| 0:59.1 | Northerners ignored July worth. |
| 1:02.1 | They deliberately chose July death to celebrate the emancipation of over 10,000 black people |
| 1:09.4 | in New York. |
| 1:11.2 | Frederick Douglass delivered his famous speech, What to the Slade is the fourth of July on |
| 1:16.6 | that day as well. |
| 1:18.3 | But this wasn't just a one-time celebration. |
| 1:27.3 | For a quarter of a century, our people rejected July worth celebrations and unified every |
| 1:33.4 | July 5th with the ultimate goal of destroying slavery everywhere. |
| 1:39.1 | They understood one crucial fact. |
| 1:42.3 | We don't need to wait for legislation or be grateful for political problems. |
| 1:48.8 | We don't even need to wait for July 5th. |
| 1:51.6 | Our freedom is in our hands. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from PushBlack, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of PushBlack and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.