In Times Like These, We Need Fire....Frederick Douglass

In a speech on July 4, 1852 about the hypocrisy and irony of the United States celebrating Independence Day while black people were suffering the ills of slavery and racism, Frederick Douglass said:

"At a time like this... For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake. The feeling of the nation must be quickened; the conscience of the nation must be roused; the propriety of the nation must be startled; the hypocrisy of the nation must be exposed; and its crimes against God and man must be denounced."

Frederick Douglass, Author, Editor, Abolitionist, Suffragist, and Diplomat (Speech, 4th of July, Rochester, New York, 1852)