The Marion Art Center partners with the Marion Community Center and Tri Town Against Racism to present a public reading of Frederick Douglass’s 1852 speech What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? The event will be held on Saturday, July 1 at 1:00 pm at the Benjamin D. Cushing Community Center located at 465 Mill Street in Marion. A diverse group of readers from the SouthCoast region will present an abridged version of Douglass’s famous speech, which will take approximately 50 minutes. Audience members are encouraged to stay for a community discussion following the reading. Dr. Moise St. Louis returns in 2023 to give opening remarks and help lead the discussion. The presentation of this public reading is a statewide initiative coordinated by Mass Humanities, a generous sponsor of these free community events. Additional resources can be found at masshumanities.org. See this and all MAC events at marionartcenter.org/events.