James Earl Jones Reads Frederick Douglass Speech ‘The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro’ [VIDEO]

Abolitionist leader Fredrick Douglass performed his famous speech “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro” on July 5, 1852, when asked to speak at a 4th of July celebration for the Rochester Ladies Antislavery Society.

James Earl Jones read Douglass’s speech during a performance for historian Howard Zinn’s book, Voices of a People’s History of the United States, in 2008. The performance made waves on social media yesterday as the nation celebrated its independence day.