Reading Frederick Douglass Together
- JacquieR
- Jul 3
- 2 min read
Updated: Aug 4
Reading Frederick Douglass Together
A powerful community event: “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”—in multiple languages!
🗓️ Sat, July 12 | 🕙 10AM–12PM
📍 Frederick Douglass Garden, Brockton
This annual event brings our community together to reflect, honor, and raise our voices in unity. Brockton is proud to be the only city in Massachusetts to present the speech in multiple languages, including Haitian Creole, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Polish, Vietnamese, Lithuanian, and more. 🌍
This event is made possible with support from Mass Humanities, Mass Cultural Council, and in partnership with the African American Association.
Hello Friends of Frederick Douglass Neighborhood Association! What an incredible reading we shared for our annual 2025 Reading Frederick Douglass Together Brockton - truly one of the best yet. Many thanks to all who came out to read, volunteer to help or just listen! I felt a shift this year—something deeper and more connected. The presence of so many young readers was especially powerful. The earlier start time was well-received, the tent and chairs worked out perfectly, and the food afterward created such a warm and welcoming atmosphere. Nearly everyone stayed to eat, talk, and truly connect. Cynthia Hodges and Jamie Hodges, representing the African American Association, organized the refreshments—it made such a difference!
It felt like all the planning came together seamlessly. Each of our board members played an essential role in making the day a success. Annette Thomas greeted guests with such warmth and encouraged sign-ups for our email list. Carol M Griffin did a beautiful job organizing readers and welcoming new voices to the circle. Willie Wilson Jr, our historian, gave a powerful invitation to replace the word “slave” with “immigrant” during the reading which brought the message into sharp relevance—what a moment. Reading in multiple languages reminded us we are all immigrants in this land. Marc J. Osborne and Janet Traskcaptured it all with so many wonderful photos. Finally many thanks to BCA for providing video coverage.
I also wanted to share that various elected officials participated including Mayor Sullivan and Chief of Staff Sydne Marrow who joined us for the full event and stayed for conversation. Sydne read a paragraph, and Mayor Sullivan shared exciting updates about Liberty Tree Park—including plans to install a bust of Frederick Douglass. Such an inspiring way to look ahead. See links below to view the photos and video recording.
~ Cindy Pendergast, President FDNA
BCA Recording of Frederick Douglass July 4th Speech Reading 7-12-25
Here are more photos from Janet Trask: https://photos.app.goo.gl/KituqyrpVErQGHh89
Images above courtesy of Marc Osborne. To see his entire collection: https://adobe.ly/467Pkbl
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