The Trent House Association will present an outdoor reading of one of Frederick Douglass’ most famous speeches, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” during Trenton’s Liberty Week. In addition to listening to the reading, visitors can join in singing “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” a Union Army marching song during the Civil War, and “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” written during the post-Reconstruction period after the war. This free event will held at 3 pm on Sunday, July 7, 2024. In case of extreme heat or rain, the event will be held inside the Visitor Center. The Museum is located at 15 Market Street in Trenton, across from the Hughes Justice Complex. Free parking and the museum entrance are at the rear of the property off William Trent Place.
After escaping from enslavement in Maryland, Frederick Douglass became a leading abolitionist renowned for his eloquent oratory and anti-slavery writings. He gave this speech on July 5, 1852, in Rochester, New York. In his speech, Douglass referred to the Declaration of Independence as establishing a nation committed to providing opportunity for “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” to all its citizens. In less than a decade, that nation was embroiled in a civil war about the legitimacy of the enslavement of people of African descent.
The words to the Battle Hymn of the Republic were written by Julia Ward Howe, an active White abolitionist, in 1861, which was sung as a marching song by Union troops. In 1900 Black civil rights activist and NAACP leader James Weldon Johnson and his brother John Rosamond Johnson wrote Lift Every Voice and Sing. This was in a period when Jim Crow laws in the southern states enforced racial segregation and de facto segregation and discrimination was practiced in the north. The lyrics subtly protest racism and recount both the struggles and triumphs of African Americans.
James Peeples will read the full text of Douglass’ speech and Bernard McMullan will lead in singing these two historic anthems. Peeples is Trustee and Vice President of the Trent House Association and is deeply involved in the local arts and culture community. Among many other projects, he recently recorded a portrayal of Paul Robeson in his last years and most recently Frederick Douglass. Bernard McMullan is a member of several choral groups including Princeton Pro Musica and Mostly Motets and recently sang in the Princeton Symphony’s Juneteenth performance of Robert Rays’ Gospel Mass.
This event precedes the annual reading of the Declaration of Independence at the mural portraying the day on July 8, 1776, when it was first proclaimed in Trenton. This reading is sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Trenton and the City of Trenton and will take place at 12 noon on Monday July 8, 2024, 23 South Warren Street in downtown Trenton. For more information call (609) 208-9991.
The William Trent House Museum is a National Historic Landmark in the Crossroads of the American Revolution National Heritage Area and on the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail. The Museum is dedicated to sharing the authentic history of the house, property, and people with our communities, connecting the past with today and tomorrow. Owned by the City of Trenton, it is operated by the Trent House Association, which is supported by the generosity of its donors; by grants from the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, the New Jersey Cultural Trust, the New Jersey Historic Trust, the Mercer County Cultural and Heritage Commission with funding from the New Jersey Historical Commission, and the Bunbury Fund and the New Jersey Arts & Culture Renewal Fund of the Princeton Area Community Foundation; and by contributions from NJM Insurance Group and Orion General Contractors. For more information, visit www.williamtrenthouse.org.
