For the past four years, Dr. M. Toni McComb along with Martin Luther King Jr. Family Services has hosted a reading of Frederick Douglass’ speech, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July”. The speech, originally orated in 1852 in Rochester NY, still holds significant value today.
Dr. McComb worked with student volunteers from Martin Luther King Jr. Afterschool Program to learn about Douglass and they practiced reading the speech which is well above their reading level. The importance of students learning about Frederick Douglass is not only attributed to his being a Massachusetts resident, but also to his contributions to the freedom of enslaved people and to his example of rising well beyond expectations for an African American of his time.
The young people get an opportunity to know that they too can make history by standing up for the values that they hold deeply.
Funded by Mass Humanities, these readings take place across the Commonwealth annually. Most events are coordinated with volunteers from the audience coming to the mic to read portions of the speech that speak to them. For Springfield, students from the MLK Jr. Afterschool Program along with graduates of the Clemente Course in Humanities and Bard College students come together to read the speech every year on the fourth of July.
Originally, the readings were held in Court Square but have since been relocated to Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center on Rutland Street. This event is free to the public and open to any student of any age that would like to participate. ■