The Reading Frederick Douglass Together event, which will take place on the South Amherst common on July 4 at 3 PM, is supported by a grant from Mass Humanities and sponsored by South Congregational Church, in partnership with Interfaith Opportunities Network and several community leaders. Professor Amilcar Shabazz will lead a discussion of the speech, and refreshments will be served. Volunteer readers from the community will each read 1-2 paragraphs from Douglass's 1852 "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? speech. Portions of the speech will be read in Spanish and other languages if readers are available. The entire event will be livestreamed.

Please pre-register to assist us in planning for the event. We will supply some chairs, but we encourage you to bring your own seating if you can. Parking will be available in the church lot, 1066 South East Street, and in the lot on the common. We will send you the livestream link a few days before the reading.
 
The abridged version of the speech to be used at the reading is available at these links:
> English: https://masshumanities.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/speech_medium-1.pdf
> Spanish: https://masshumanities.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/speech_medium_spanish.pdf
> Haitian Creole: https://masshumanities.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/speech_medium_kreyol.pdf

In the event of rain, the reading will take place in the sanctuary of South Congregational Church, but the in-person audience will be limited to readers to allow for social distancing. We will notify you by 2 PM on July 4 if the event has been moved indoors and resend the livestream link.

Thank you for your interest in this important community gathering!