Reading Frederick Douglass Together

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To celebrate Black History Month the College of Humanities and Fine Arts (HFA) will host Reading Frederick Douglass Together.

The event is part of the Mass Humanities Reading Frederick Douglass Together grant program. This initiative encourages communities to come together for public readings and discussions of Douglass’s powerful address, What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? UMass Amherst students, faculty, and staff will gather to read excerpts from the speech aloud and reflect on its lasting impact.

This marks the fourth year HFA is hosting the event.

Each year, Mass Humanities also partners with Community Change, Inc. of Boston, the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice at Harvard Law School, and the Museum of African American History to host a public reading on Boston Common. This event, held near the monument to the 54th Regiment, draws a diverse group, including state legislators, students, and community members who take turns reading Douglass’s speech.

Since 2019, Mass Humanities has also organized an annual reading in Northampton, where local residents gather in the park outside the organization’s headquarters. To learn more about Mass Humanities, visit masshumanities.org.

Mass Humanities is always interested in learning more about the people who participate in readings. Attendees are encouraged to take a brief five question survey. 

Please let us know you're coming! Lunch will be served.