WHAT FOURTH OF JULY?

The Story

We were honored to create and direct this powerful collaboration with Tony Award winner Daveed Diggs (‘Hamilton’) and the Movement for Black Lives juxtaposing America’s proclaimed ideals of freedom with the lived realities of police violence and racial oppression. Inspired by Frederick Douglass’ historic speech “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?,” this piece was written by a collective of radical Black writers including W. Kamau Bell, Safia Elhillo, Danez Smith, Pharoahe Monch, Lauren A. Whitehead, Idris Goodwin, Camonghne Felix, Nate Marshall, and Angel Nafis. Released right before the July 4th holiday, the video spread far and wide with over 10 million views and national media attention, supporting the growing campaigns to defend Black lives, fight voter suppression, and defund police.