Uploaded July 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
This recording is presented in partnership by Princeton Public Library, Nassau Presbyterian Church and Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church Joint Mission Committee, Not In Our Town Princeton, Paul Robeson House of Princeton, and Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton.
Community partners included African American Cultural Collaborative of Mercer County, Arts Council of Princeton, Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice, Center for Modern Aging Princeton, Coalition for Peace Action, The Father Center of Central NJ, Historical Society of Princeton, John H Pace Jr '39 Center for Civic Engagement at Princeton, Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Mass Incarceration Task Force, Morningstar Church of God, Morven Museum and Gardens, Muslim Center of Greater Princeton, Princeton Jewish Center, Princeton Nursery School, Princeton Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum, Theological Seminary, Princeton United Methodist Church, The Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Princeton, Trenton First Baptist, Trenton Literacy Movement, Trenton Spoken Word, YWCA Princeton.
Community members read an amended version of Frederick Douglass' influential speech, given on July 5, 1852, in Rochester, New York, to the Rochester Ladies Anti-Slavery Society.
This year's opening speaker is President Jonathon L. Walton of Princeton Theological Seminary.
The life and works of Frederick Douglass continue to shape our understanding of America. A gifted orator and prescient writer, Douglass forces us to reckon with the legacy of slavery and the promises of democracy. One of the most celebrated orators of his day, Douglass’ powerful language, resolute denunciations of slavery and forceful examination of the Constitution challenge us to think about the histories we tell, the values they teach, and if our actions match our aspirations. To quote Douglass, “We have to do with the past only as we can make it useful to the future.”
This event was recorded on July 7, 2025.
This recording is presented in partnership by Princeton Public Library, Nassau Presbyterian Church and Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church Joint Mission Committee, Not In Our Town Princeton, Paul Robeson House of Princeton, and Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton.
Community partners included African American Cultural Collaborative of Mercer County, Arts Council of Princeton, Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice, Center for Modern Aging Princeton, Coalition for Peace Action, The Father Center of Central NJ, Historical Society of Princeton, John H Pace Jr '39 Center for Civic Engagement at Princeton, Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Mass Incarceration Task Force, Morningstar Church of God, Morven Museum and Gardens, Muslim Center of Greater Princeton, Princeton Jewish Center, Princeton Nursery School, Princeton Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum, Theological Seminary, Princeton United Methodist Church, The Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Princeton, Trenton First Baptist, Trenton Literacy Movement, Trenton Spoken Word, YWCA Princeton.
Community members read an amended version of Frederick Douglass' influential speech, given on July 5, 1852, in Rochester, New York, to the Rochester Ladies Anti-Slavery Society.
This year's opening speaker is President Jonathon L. Walton of Princeton Theological Seminary.
The life and works of Frederick Douglass continue to shape our understanding of America. A gifted orator and prescient writer, Douglass forces us to reckon with the legacy of slavery and the promises of democracy. One of the most celebrated orators of his day, Douglass’ powerful language, resolute denunciations of slavery and forceful examination of the Constitution challenge us to think about the histories we tell, the values they teach, and if our actions match our aspirations. To quote Douglass, “We have to do with the past only as we can make it useful to the future.”
This event was recorded on July 7, 2025.
