In 1852 the Rochester, NY Ladies Anti-Slavery Society asked Frederick Douglass to deliver their annual Fourth of July Oration. The speech he gave ran to more than 2500 words and is a work of scorching irony and one of the great speeches in American history. We are pleased to offer this wonderful reading of an abridged version of the speech by Madison’s Melvin Hinton.
Melvin Hinton was a member of The Madrid Players in Madrid, Spain, where he studied music theory and voice at the Escuela Superior de Canto, after which he covered much of Spain in vocal recitals, acting in Murray Schisgal’s The Typists with Kathy Seley, and touring with Donna Hightower’s gospel music ensemble. He has directed students in theater at the U. S. Cultural Center in Madrid, at Tennessee State University, and at The University of the South. His work as a Spanish and English tutor at Lincoln Elementary School has been highlighted by The Madison Times, Umoja Magazine, and others. He recently attended the African Story-Telling Workshop conducted by Ms. Nothando Zulu, director of the Black Storytellers’ Alliance. He was Reverend Sykes in the CTM production of To Kill a Mockingbird at the Overture Center and has presented poetry at the Sequoya Library and other venues. Melvin Hinton’s program Radio Literature airs every Thursday at 7:30 p. m. on WORT FM89.9 as well as on the internet (wortfm.org). Thanks to David Lorentzen for audio engineering and WORT for use of their studio.