The Friends of the 1836 Meeting House is proud to announce the 6th Annual 4th of July Declaration of Independence Recitation Event on the North Andover Common. In addition to the D of I reading, this year’s highlights, will include students from the NAMS Civics in Action class reading the Bill of Rights and then providing brief summaries of each right. Our guests will also hear segments from the William Jennings Bryan speech Imperialism, Frederick Douglass speech The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro, and Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream speech. These speeches will be read by Judy Eskin from Greater Andover Indivisible, Pastor Lyndon Myers from Andover Baptist Church and Ralph Bledsoe from the North Andover African American History Committee, respectively.
This family friendly event will take place on Friday, July 4th at the North Andover Common starting at 11:00am. Our program includes State Senators Bruce Tarr and Barry Finegold with State Representative Tram Nguyen reading the Declaration of Independence. Local activists and leaders will read other historic speeches, described above. Local musicians will perform several songs relevant to our readings including I Hear Them All/This Land is Your Land original medley by Rockwood Taylor and an original song entitled United in America, written and performed by the Choral Majority. Joanna Kerr, Director of the North Andover Historical Society will narrate the program. Get more information at https://www.1836meetinghouse.org/
If there is rain, the event will be held in the Meeting House at North Parish Church on the Common.
The Event is sponsored by the Friends of the 1836 Meeting House,
the North Andover Historical Society with support from the North Andover Festival Committee and a generous grant from Mass Humanities provided through the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
