In 1852, abolitionist movement leader Frederick Douglass gave a scathing speech the day after Independence Day, saying: “This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn…. Do you mean, citizens, to mock me, by asking me to speak today?” Douglass reminded listeners that when the Declaration of Independence was signed, many people were still enslaved. Speaker and worship leader Kay Gonzales explored the pride and pain that go hand in hand as we mark the 244th anniversary of American independence in the midst of renewed racial strife and a global pandemic.

Topics: History, Social Justice