Douglass spoke to an audience in the PIL Lyceum (what is now the 2nd and 3rd floors of our historic building) on December 16th, 1873. The Peabody Press reported that when the doors to the Lyceum opened, “every available chair in the building was pressed into service and the platform furnished seats for a few more, […] both aisles and the gallery were overflowing also."

We seek to remember his legacy, and how his work affected those in attendance back in 1873 through to the current day, by hosting a community reading of Douglass's most famous work, "What to a Slave is the 4th of July",   accompanied by lectures on the context of this powerful speech by Salem State Professor Jamie Wilson and Historian and Tufts University Librarian Gabby Womack.

This event is sponsored by Mass Humanities, and will include refreshments at 6pm, followed by the community reading and discussion at 7pm.