"What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?" is a speech delivered by the renowned African American abolitionist Frederick Douglass on July 5, 1852 in Rochester, New York. In this powerful and searing speech, Douglass reflected on the irony and hypocrisy of celebrating American independence while slavery continued to exist in the United States.

Douglass criticized the nation for its failure to live up to its founding ideals of freedom and equality for all its citizens, particularly African Americans who were still enslaved at that time. He highlighted the stark contrast between the lofty rhetoric of the Declaration of Independence and the harsh reality of slavery, declaring, "What, to the American slave, is your Fourth of July? I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim."

Douglass's speech challenged his audience to confront the moral contradictions of a nation that proclaimed itself as a beacon of liberty and justice while denying those very ideals to a large segment of its population. His words continue to resonate today as a powerful reminder of the ongoing struggle for racial equality and justice in America.

The speech remains a landmark moment in Black history and in the broader struggle for civil rights and social justice. It serves as a testament to the courage and eloquence of Frederick Douglass as a leading voice in the fight against slavery and racial oppression.