4th of July Speech by Fredrick Douglas…relevant for today and the future?

Ten years before the Civil War, the city of Rochester, NY asked Frederick Douglass to speak for its July 4, 1852 celebration. Douglass accepted, but rather than join in the ‘celebration,’ Douglass took it in an unexpected direction. In this clip, Danny Glover performs part of that speech (hat tip to the Zinn Education Project and MoveOn.org)

Thinking about the future, we should be ever vigilant (esp on 4th of July) about America’s history of being slow to accept the rights of  all people because of some “difference”. Race,Ethnicity,Disability, and Sexual Orientation to name a few. How will people e.g. TransBeMan’s, Transhumanists, who choose to continue their consciousness with technology, be recieved?

Let’s listen carefully to what Fredrick Douglas said in his 4th of July address  and see what relevance it has for today.