The iPINIONS Journal

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Frederick Douglass

Fourth of July: Frederick Douglass, America’s Ill-begotten Founding Son

Friday, July 3, 2026 at 8:32 AM
Written by Anthony L. Hall

America turns 250 as Trump turns the Fourth of July into a vanity grift of passports, pageantry, caste, and resentment. iPINIONS contends that Frederick Douglass, America’s ill-begotten Founding Son, still exposes the country’s original sin and its ongoing failure to honor the promise of equality. Read my full take on Substack: https://ipinionsdaily.substack.com/p/fourth-of-july-frederick-douglass Read more.

What to the [Black] Is the Fourth of July?

Friday, July 4, 2025 at 9:23 AM
Written by Anthony L. Hall

Frederick Douglass asked what the Fourth of July meant to the slave. In 2025, the question still haunts Black Americans, especially as MAGA celebrates with fireworks, beer, and denial. iPINIONS marks this Independence Day by echoing the founding contradictions Douglass indicted. Read more on my Substack:https://ipinionsdaily.substack.com/p/what-to-the-black-is-the-fourth-of Read more.

Douglass Damned Its Inherent Hypocrisy, but July 4th Has Many…

Monday, July 4, 2022 at 11:53 AM
Written by Anthony L. Hall

I’m referring, of course, to the famous 1852 speech by Frederick Douglass, “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? Because, frankly, you could substitute Black for Slave throughout and it would still resonate. Douglass decried the many ways America’s treatment of Black folks made a mockery of its Declaration of Independence and founding… Read more.

Frederick Douglass Is the ‘Greatest Figure America Has Ever Produced’

Monday, October 15, 2018 at 7:42 AM
Written by Anthony L. Hall

I have been making this claim for decades. It’s based primarily on the fact that Frederick Douglass personified both the contradictions and promises that define America’s founding documents. And he did so like nobody else has or ever could. Unfortunately, even black historians have been so indoctrinated with white historiography, they invariably try to qualify my… Read more.

African American Museum Paying Trumpian Tribute to Oprah. Shame!

Monday, June 11, 2018 at 7:13 AM
Written by Anthony L. Hall

I could not have been prouder when the National Museum of African American History and Culture opened in September 2016 on the hallowed Mall in Washington, DC. That it opened under the auspices of the first black president of the United States made the occasion seem providential. In fact, I was so proud, I became… Read more.