Swampscott Frederick Douglass Reading Draws Nearly 200

SWAMPSCOTT, MA — Nearly 200 North Shore residents gathered in Swampscott to read, reflect on, and discuss Frederick Douglass's 1852 speech, "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?"

More than 60 readers participated in the reading, designed to be "informative, family-friendly evening with free ice cream, food trucks, and the reading of the speech by multiple readers, including special guests."

The sponsors were the Swampscott S.U.R.E. Diversity Committee, the Swampscott Historical Commission, the Nahant Historical Society, Swampscott Recreation and the Swampscott Public Library.

Swampscott Historical Commission Chair Nancy Schultz led the event and welcomed the readers, including many families with children. In addition to Swampscott and Nahant residents, readers included Rep. Jenny Armini, Rep. Sean Reid, DA Paul Tucker, Sheriff Kevin Coppinger, Select Board and School Committee members.

The event ended with a discussion led by Enzo Silon Surin, a well known poet, writer, about how the speech related to the world today.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)