PEOPLE’S ORGANIZATION FOR PROGRESS WILL HOST COMMUNITY READING OF FREDERICK DOUGLASS’ SPEECH “WHAT TO THE SLAVE IS THE FOURTH OF JULY?”

As the nation begins to celebrate its 250th anniversary of independence, a grassroots civil rights organization will have a public reading of a speech by a nineteenth century slavery abolitionist which offers a unique perspective on the 4th of July.

There will be community recitation of “What To The Slave Is The Fourth Of July,” by Frederick Douglass. It will take place on Thursday evening, July 2, 2026, 6:00pm at Bethany Baptist Church, 275 West Market Street in Newark, New Jersey.

The program is sponsored by the People’s Organization For Progress. It is free and open to the public.

“We are having this program because we felt it was important to hear the perspective of a Black abolitionist on celebrating the nation’s independence while millions of Black people were still enslaved within its borders,” Lawrence Hamm, Chairman, People’s Organization For Progress stated.

“We also believe that this activity will give us further insight into the state of race relations in the United States today,” Hamm said.

“We are calling this a community reading because the presentation will be a collective effort. We are inviting community leaders, activists and residents to each read portions of the speech,” he said.

Frederick Douglass is the most famous abolitionist of his era. He was born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey. His recognized birthdate is February 14, 1818. He was born into slavery in Talbot County, Maryland. Douglass was self-emancipated and self-educated.

He escaped from slavery at age 20 and went on to join the abolitionist movement. He became an author, statesman, and one of the greatest orators of his time. Douglass was also the most photographed person of his century. He was about 77 years old when he died on February 20, 1895 in Washington, DC.

The speech was given at an event observing the 76th anniversary of U.S. independence on July 5, 1852 at Corinthian Hall in Rochester, New York. It was organized by the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society. This was nine years before the start of the Civil War.

“The program is timely because it takes place after the Juneteenth holiday on June 19th, which celebrates emancipation, and before Independence Day on July 4th, which observes the country’s founding when Black people were enslaved,” Hamm said.

“When Frederick Douglass asked the question ‘what to the slave is the Fourth of July?’ in 1852, nearly four million of black people in this country were enslaved,” he said.

“So now, 174 years later we must ask the question what should this holiday mean to the descendants of those who were enslaved in this country on July 4,1776,” he said.

“In his answer to the question Douglass made a scathing criticism of slavery in the U.S. I am certain that if he could speak now he would be relentless in his critique of the ongoing racism, white supremacy, racial inequality, injustice, and oppression that exists in this country today,” Hamm said.

For more information contact the People’s Organization For Progress (POP) at 973 801-0001.

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PEOPLE’S ORGANIZATION FOR PROGRESS WILL HOLD PART TWO OF VOTING RIGHTS FORUM IN MONTCLAIR NJ

The second part of a forum entitled “The Attack On Voting Rights And The War On Black People,” will be held Friday, June 26, 2026, 7:00pm at St Paul’s Baptist Church, 119 Elm Street in Montclair, New Jersey.

The event is sponsored by the People’s Organization For Progress (POP), a grassroots volunteer group that works for racial, social, economic justice and peace.

“The purpose of this forum is to give people an opportunity to continue our dialogue on the negative impact of the racist and fascist domestic and foreign policies of the Trump administration on Black people and strategies for fighting back,” Lawrence Hamm, Chairman, People’s Organization For Progress stated.

Part one of the forum was held on May 29th at the same location. During that session numerous presentations were made by elected officials, community leaders, and activists.

“During the last seasion most of the program consisted of presentations by the invited speakers. This time most of the program will be devoted to audience participation so we can hear what the people have to say,” Hamm said.

“At the end of the of the last program we polled the audience and asked them if they wanted to have a second session to continue the dialogue and the overwhelming majority responded affirmatively,” he said.

Hamm said POP decided to have the first program after the U.S. Supreme Court announced its decision in the Louisiana v. Callais case. That ruling eviscerated the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

“In terms of civil rights and racial equity that was one of the worst U.S. Supreme Court decisions since the Dred Scott case of 1857 when the court said that black people had no rights that white people were bound to respect,” he said.

Hamm said the court’s decision enables racist state legislatures to redraw their congressional districts and eliminate those which have large black populations. This could result in the loss of as many as 19 congressional seats now held by African Americans.

Besides voter suppression and the attack on voting rights Hamm cited other reasons for calling the forum.

“Black people continue to experience the highest rates of racist violence. Black Americans experience the highest rate of police brutality and fatal shootings by police. Black people are three times more likely to be killed by police than whites.

“Black student enrollment at colleges and universities continues to decline due to the Supreme Court decision to end affirmative action in higher education.

“Since the beginning of Trump’s second term Black unemployment has doubled with more than 600,000 black people losing their jobs, including 350,000 Black women, due to a sagging economy, federal budget cuts, and the ending of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs,” he said.

“The Trump administration is perhaps the most openly racist and certainly the most corrupt in my lifetime. His racist and fascist rhetoric and vitriolic attacks exceed that of his contemporaries,” he said.

“The reactionary policies of the White House, ultra conservative decisions of the Supreme Court, and right wing legislation of Congress and state legislatures makes it feel like there is a war on Black people in this country,” Hamm said.

“The response to the first forum was so positive that we have decided to have this same discussion in other cities and towns across New Jersey. Other programs are already scheduled and will be announced soon,” he said.

For more information please call People’s Organization for Progress at 973 801-0001.

MARCH AGAINST TRUMP DICTATORSHIP IN NEWARK, NJ ON SUNDAY, JUNE 14TH

A counter protest will be held in response to the Trump administration’s celebration in Washington DC this weekend. 

An “End The Trump Dictatorship March And Rally,” will be held Sunday, June 14, 2026, 2:00pm at the Rodino Federal Building, 970 Broad Street in Newark, New Jersey. 

The demonstration is sponsored by the People’s Organization For Progress. It has been endorsed by the Martin Luther King People’s Convention for Justice and Resistance Planning Committee. 

The event will begin with a rally at the federal building. After the rally the protesters will march to Martin Luther King Statue at 495 Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd. 

“We are having this demonstration to protest the sham celebration that President Trump is having in the nation’s capital on Sunday,” Lawrence Hamm, Chairman, People’s Organization For Progress stated. 

“We will not celebrate this president who is a would be dictator nor will we celebrate a false racist history of this country. We must protest against it,” Hamm said. 

He said that the demonstration is also being held to protest Trump’s racist, fascist, and draconian policies at home, and his administration’s imperialistic wars abroad.

“Trump is celebrating himself this weekend. He says it’s about the 250th anniversary of the founding of the country but it’s really all about him, his administration, and his policies,” he said. 

“This is what dictators do. They try to make people believe they are the personification of the nation,” he said. 

“Like King Louis XIV, Trump believes he is the state. In his mind being loyal to the country means being loyal to him,” he said. 

Hamm said the historical narrative of the nation being used by the Trump administration for these celebrations is a whitewashed history that conforms to a white supremacist perspective. 

“In their version of history the genocide against the Native Americans and theft of their land, the enslavement of Africans and oppression of Black people, and other similar episodes are downplayed or nonexistent,” he said. 

“We cannot celebrate a history that does not tell the whole truth or does not recognize the contributions of those who have been oppressed and exploited,” he said. 

For more information contact the People’s Organization For Progress at (973)801-0001.

SUPREME COURT VOTING RIGHTS RULING PROTESTED AT FEDERAL COURTHOUSE IN NEWARK NJ

Social justice activists and labor leaders outraged by a recent Supreme Court ruling in a major voting rights case protested at a federal district courthouse on Wednesday.

The demonstration took place May 13th at the Martin Luther King Federal Courthouse in Newark, New Jersey. It was sponsored by the People’s Organization For Progress.

“We held this protest in response to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Louisiana v. Callais case. That ruling has effectively killed the 1965 Voting Rights Act,” Lawrence Hamm, Chairman, People’s Organization For Progress stated.

“It will enable states to redraw their congressional districts and eliminate those which have majority black populations. This in turn will cause many black congressional representatives to lose their seats,” Hamm said.

He said the court’s ruling is a major set back to the African American struggle for voting rights and political representation in the United States. It will leave many states, particularly those in the South with no Black congressional representation.

“This may be one of the worst U.S. Supreme Court decisions since the ruling in the Dred Scott case of 1857 which said that black people had no rights that white people were bound to respect,” he said.

As soon as the protesters arrived they set up a picket line outside the entrance of the courthouse. They chanted and drummed while carrying signs and banners.

Courthouse security came outside and watched them from the steps but did not interfere. Drones hovered above the demonstrators for several hours until the conclusion of the protest.

Through the loudspeaker that they brought with them their chants could be heard several blocks away. During the protest they had a number of speakers representing community, labor, and religious groups.

Unlike most demonstrations where the crowd stops to listen to the speakers, during this event they made their presentations during the picketing. The picket line never stopped moving. It continued until the demonstration was over.

Hamm opened the rally saying the protesters were there to oppose this “abominable” decision by the court and that they demanded the restoration of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

“We demand that Congress pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act at the federal level. We demand that the state legislature pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act of New Jersey. It has been passed by the Assembly now we want it passed by the Senate,” he said.

“We also demand the reform and restructuring of the Supreme Court. Lifetime appointments must end, term limits should be imposed, and stronger ethics laws should be put in place,” he said.

Speakers at the rally included Deborah Smith-Gregory, President, NAACP Newark, Larry Hirsch, President, Local 913 American Federation of Government Employees, Daryn Martin, Secretary-Treasurer, District 1199J, and Rev Michael Corso, Sophia Inclusive Community.

Other speakers there were Jimmy Small, Chairman, Muslim League of Voters of New Jersey, Zayid Muhammad, New Jersey Communities for Accountable Policing, and Assatta Mann-Colon, Community Organizing Manager, New Jersey Institute for Social Justice.

Additional speakers addressed the crowd including Heather Richner, Associate Counsel for the Democracy and Justice Program, Rev Anya Sammler, Senior Co-Minister Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Montclair, Evelyn Williams, Vice Chairwoman, South Ward Democratic Committee, and Larry Adams, Vice Chairman, People’s Organization For Progress.

An earlier written statement announcing the protest also called for the expansion of the court from nine to thirteen justices to allow for the appointment of four liberal members to break the ideological stranglehold of the current right wing super majority on the court.

During the demonstration the protesters called for the impeachment of those justices that were part of the court majority that issued the ruling in the Callais case. They also called for the impeachment of President Trump.

For more information please call People’s Organization for Progress at 973 801-0001.