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Follow on Google News | Renaissance House Martha's Vineyard Invites Public to July 4 Reading of Frederick Douglass SpeechAbigail McGrath, Founder of Renaissance House Writers Retreat, Welcomes People of All Ages to Participate in Dramatic Reading of Frederick Douglass' Historic Speech "What Does Fourth of July Mean to the Negro" at Martha's Vineyard's Inkwell Beach
By: Renaissance House Readers of all ages are invited to help bring the words of Frederick Douglass to life. Each volunteer reader will recite different sections of the 10,000-plus word address Douglass wrote in 1852 in the midst of slavery. Although its been over 150 years since Frederick Douglass delivered his Fourth of July speech at a convention in Rochester, New York, the message is especially resonate during this turbulent political era. Lifelong Martha's Vineyard summer resident, Abigail McGrath, the founder of Renaissance House, created this community reading to celebrate the continuing impact of Douglass, the first Black citizen in U.S. history to hold a high-ranking government office. "There is just something about Frederick Douglass' words being carried out over the Atlantic waters where millions of Africans lost their lives during the Middle Passage," McGrath said. "These blue waters are the perfect natural backdrop for public open-air readings of the most powerful anti-slavery message of all time – the Frederick Douglass' 1852 Independence Day Speech." The architects for the Frederick Douglass reading include Frederick Collins, a law professor at John Jay College, an historical expert on Douglass, a cultural advocate and resident of Oak Bluffs. The director-editor- Renaissance House is a writers retreat sponsored by the Helene Johnson and Dorothy West Foundation. West, the author of the award-winning novel and film The Wedding, and her poet cousin Johnson (Mc Grath's mother) were writers during the Harlem Renaissance. In the year 2000, it was founded by McGrath, an author, playwright and filmmaker, who was the inspiration for the novel The Wedding. Renaissance House provides writers and other artists with a subsidized retreat away from life's responsibilities and the space in which to create new works of art. It is one of the few retreats designed for issue-oriented writers, writers of color and writers of social justice. Readers are requested to arrive by 3:30pm. The reading begins at 4:00pm. For more on the Frederick Douglass reading on July 4, please call Renaissance House at 917-747-0367 or email Renaissancehse@ End
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