We believe Frederick Douglass’ words belong in public spaces. Every year we provide grants to support readings of his influential address, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” in town squares, community centers, churches, museums, libraries, parks, and more.
This year, we’re proud to share that a record-high 76 readings will take place across the commonwealth in 2026. Reference the list below to find a reading near you.
Saturday, May 30
Grantee: Boston Review of Books
Location: Malden
Time: 2:00 pm
Wednesday, June 3
Grantee: Massachusetts Voter Education Resource Network
Location: Boston, Gourdin Memorial Park
Time: 1:00 pm
Thursday, June 4
Grantee: Elite 413 Foundation
Location: Zoom
Time: 5:00 pm
Thursday, June 11
Grantee: Lowell Community Charter Public School
Location: Lowell Community Charter Public School, Luna Theater
Time: 6:00 pm
Saturday, June 13
Grantee: Together Hyde Park/ The Forum for Racial Equity
Location: Boston
Time: 11:00 am
Sunday, June 14
Grantee: Jookender Community Initiative
Location: Framingham
Time: 10:00 am
Tuesday, June 16
Grantee: Center for Law and Education
Location: Boston
Time: 12:00 pm
Tuesday, June 16
Grantee: Artists for Humanity
Location: Boston
Time: 4:30 pm
Wednesday, June 17
Grantee: Wellfleet Preservation Hall
Location: Wellfleet
Time: 7:00 pm
Wednesday, June 17
Grantee: Massachusetts International Festival of the Arts (MIFA)
Location: De La Luz Sound Stage, 114 Race St, Holyoke, MA 01040
Time: 5:00 pm
Thursday, June 18
Grantee: Bristol Community College Foundation
Location: Fall River
Time: 4:30 pm
Thursday, June 18
Grantee: Holyoke Media Center
Location: Holyoke
Time: 6:00 pm
Friday, June 19
Grantee: Medway Marches
Location: Medway
Time: 2:00 pm
Friday, June 19
Grantee: Westford Museum
Location: Westford
Time: 7:00 pm
Friday, June 19
Grantee: Recovery Through Innovation
Location: Indian Orchard
Time: 1:00 pm
Friday, June 19
Grantee: Natick Historical Society
Location: Natick
Time: 10:00 am
Friday, June 19
Grantee: Old Sturbridge Village
Location: Sturbridge
Time: 1:00 pm
Friday, June 19
Grantee: Brookline for the Culture
Location: Brookline
Time: 12:30 pm
Friday, June 19
Grantee: City of Salem
Location: Salem
Time: 12:30 pm
Friday, June 19
Grantee: The Black Response
Location: Cambridge
Time: 1:15 pm
Friday, June 19
Grantee: Black Business Association of Amherst Area
Location: Amherst
Time: 2:30 pm
Saturday, June 20
Grantee: World of Chibuzo
Location: Boston
Time: 6:00 pm
Saturday, June 20
Grantee: Holliston Public Library
Location: Holliston
Time: 10:00 am
Saturday, June 20
Grantee: Engine Room Section/Hyde Park Lions Club
Location: Hyde Park
Time: 1:00 pm
Saturday, June 20
Grantee: The David and Joyce Milne Public Library
Location: Williamstown
Time: 11:00 am
Sunday, June 21
Grantee: Berkshire Community College Foundation
Location: Pittsfield
Time: 12:00 pm
Thursday, June 25
Grantee: Forbes House Museum
Location: Milton
Time: 7:00 pm
Friday, June 26
Grantee: Mass Humanities, Museum of African American History | Boston and Nantucket, and Community Change
Location: Boston Common
Time: 12:00 pm
Friday, June 26
Grantee: NAACP Worcester
Location: Worcester
Time: 12:00 pm
Saturday, June 27
Grantee: Rediscover Mapledale
Location: Stow
Time: 10:30 am
Saturday, June 27
Grantee: Historic Beverly
Location: Beverly
Time: 10:00 am
Saturday, June 27
Grantee: African American Association of Brockton
Location: Brockton
Time: 12:00 pm
Saturday, June 27
Grantee: Hawthorne Youth and Community Center
Location: Roxbury
Time: 2:00 pm
Saturday, June 27
Grantee: Bristol Black Collective
Location: Fall River
Time: 12:30 pm
Saturday, June 27
Grantee: Everyday Boston
Location: Boston
Time: TBD
Sunday, June 28
Grantee: The John F. Kennedy Hyannis Museum Foundation
Location: Hyannis
Time: 1:00 pm
Tuesday, June 30
Grantee: The Wayland Museum & Historical Society
Location: Wayland
Time: 7:00 pm
Tuesday, June 30
Grantee: Somerville Museum
Location: Somerville
Time: 6:00 pm
Wednesdsay, July 1
Grantee: Greenfield Community Television
Location: Greenfield
Time: 5:00 pm
Wednesdsay, July 1
Grantee: Reading Public Library
Location: Reading
Time: 6:30 pm
Wednesdsay, July 1
Grantee: Haitian Studies Association
Location: Vineyard Haven
Time: 5:00 pm
Thursday, July 2
Grantee: Town of Swampscott & S.U.R.E. Diversity
Location: Swampscott
Time: 4:00 pm
Friday, July 3
Grantee: Northshore Juneteenth Association
Location: Lynn
Time: 11:00 am
Friday, July 3
Grantee: Museum of African American History | Boston and Nantucket
Location: Nantucket
Time: 12:00 pm
Saturday, July 4
Grantee: Wakullah Street Community Garden
Location: Boston
Time: 2:00 pm
Saturday, July 4
Grantee: Drag Story Hour Berkshires
Location: Pittsfield
Time: 1:00 pm
Saturday, July 4
Grantee: Plainfield Reads
Location: Plainfield, Alden Pavilion
Time: 10:00 am
Saturday, July 4
Grantee: Old Parish Preservation Volunteers
Location: Norwood
Time: 2:00 pm
Saturday, July 4
Grantee: Solidarity Arts & Education Decolonial initiatives (SAEDi) Collective
Location: Auburn
Time: 1:00 pm
Saturday, July 4
Grantee: Royall House and Slave Quarters
Location: Medford
Time: TBD
Sunday, July 5
Grantee: Cape Cod Cape Verdean Museum and Cultural Center
Location: East Falmouth
Time: 2:00 pm
Sunday, July 5
Grantee: South Congregational Church
Location: Amherst
Time: 3:00 pm
Sunday, July 5
Grantee: Castle of Our Skins
Location: Roxbury
Time: 3:00 pm
Sunday, July 5
Grantee: Unitarian Universalist Society of Grafton and Upton
Location: Grafton
Time: 5:00 pm
Sunday, July 5
Grantee: Newburyport Preservation Trust
Location: Newburyport
Time: 10:00 am
Sunday, July 5
Grantee: The Poets’ Theatre of Boston
Location: Belmont
Time: 3:00 pm
Monday, July 6
Grantee: Marion Art Center
Location: Marion
Time: 1:00 pm
Wednesday, July 8
Grantee:Multicultural AIDS Coalition
Location: Roxbury
Time: 5:30 pm
Wednesday, July 8
Grantee: Whittier Home Association
Location: Rocky Hill Meeting House, Amesbury
Time: 6:00 pm
Saturday, July 18
Grantee: Martin Luther King Jr. Family Services
Location: Springfield
Time: 5:00 pm
Wednesday, July 22
Grantee: Indian Orchard Citizens Council
Location: Springfield
Time: 2:00 pm
Saturday, September 12
Grantee: Porter-Phelps-Huntington Foundation
Location: Hadley
Time: 2:00 pm
Saturday, September 12
Grantee: Think Outside The Vox
Location: Littleton
Time: TBD