Frederick Douglass Community Reading at Stagville July 4
Date: Sat, Jul 4, 2026
Time: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Venue: Stagville July 4, Raleigh
Price: Free
Category: Community
Statue of Frederick Douglass. Photo from Depositphotos Stagville State Historic Site, 5828 Old Oxford Highway in Durham, North Carolina, contains the remnants of one of the largest plantations of the pre-Civil War South. The plantation belonged to the Bennehan-Cameron family, whose combined holdings totaled approximately 900 enslaved people and almost 30,000 acres of land by 1860. Stagville offers a view of the past, especially that of its African American community, by allowing visitors to guide themselves around its extensive grounds. It is free to visit Stagville State Historic Site. There are also many free and inexpensive events throughout the year. It's open Tuesday through Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Guided tours are offered. Call ahead to find out the times. They're $2 for adults and $1 for seniors and children. You might find this address to be better than the Durham one: 5925 Jock Road, Bahama, NC. Self-guided tours are free, but do not include access to the buildings. You'll need a car to get to all parts of the site, as it's very large. For questions about accessibility or accomodations, please email info@stagville.org. Upcoming Events Frederick Douglass Community ReadingSaturday, July 4, 202610 a.m.Free Commemorate Independence Day with a reading of Frederick Douglass' powerful Fourth of July address, "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July" at Historic Stagville State Historic Site. This is a participatory community reading. Every year, 60 volunteers sign up to read passages from this famous abolitionist speech in front of the historic slave quarters at Horton Grove. You may sign up as a reader when you arrive. This year's reading will mark a special date for reflection and remembrance: the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Douglass delivered this powerful speech about freedom and injustice on July 5, 1852, at an Independence Day celebration in Rochester, New York. Douglass' speech remains one of the most famous abolitionist te
