Reading Frederick Douglass at the Royall House and Slave Quarters

In the eighteenth century, the Royall House and Slave Quarters was home to the largest slaveholding family in Massachusetts and the enslaved Africans who made their lavish way of life possible. Today, the Royall House and Slave Quarters is a museum whose architecture, household items, archaeological artifacts, and programs bear witness to intertwined stories of wealth and bondage, set against the backdrop of America’s quest for independence.The Slave Quarters is the only remaining such structure in the northern United States, and the Royall House is among the finest colonial-era buildings in New England. The museum is open to the public for tours on weekends from June through October, while school and group tours are available from mid-March to mid-November. The museum also presents a range of public programs throughout the year. Members receive free admission to the museum and free or discounted admission to most programs.

Royall House and Slave Quarters

Join us on July 4th for our museum's first-ever Reading Frederick Douglass Together event.

Please join us at the museum on July 4th for our first Reading Frederick Douglass Together event.We invite community members to gather in the historic Slave Quarters building to read and/or listen to Douglass's "What, to the Slave, is the Fourth of July?" to honor the long history of Black activism, critique, and abolition.This in-person program is free and open to all. Because thunderstorms are forecast, this program will take place indoors. We will begin the program with a brief libation ceremony to honor the people who were enslaved on the plantation. Scholar/activist David Harris and members of the Mystic Valley Area NAACP will launch the reading, then invite interested community members to read sections of the speech. Drumming by Akili Jamal Haynes and a poetry reading by Terry E. Carter, Medford's Poet Laureate Emeritus, will close out the program.After the event, we invite community members to an informal open house inside the Royall House. Light refreshments will be provided. Each year, Mass Humanities organizes and funds free public events where communities gather together to read and talk about Frederick Douglass’ influential address. The Royall House and Slave Quarters received a grant for this program from Mass Humanities, with funding made possible by the Mass Cultural Council. The Royall House and Slave Quarters is located at 15 George Street in Medford, Massachusetts, just outside of Medford Square. Visit royallhouse.org/directions for T and bus info. Free on-street parking is available on George Street and other nearby streets; please obey signs regarding resident permit restrictions.

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Reading Frederick Douglass at the Royall House and Slave Quarters

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