JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Seventy-six years and one day after the Founding Fathers declared the colonies' independence from Great Britain, Frederick Douglass gave a speech pointing to the disconnect between his lived experience and those of white Americans.
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ZOE DOUGLASS SKINNER: (Reading) For it is not light that is needed, but fire.
HALEY ROSE WATSON: (Reading) It is not the gentle shower, but thunder.
ISIDORE DHARMA DOUGLASS SKINNER: (Reading) We need the storm, the whirlwind and the earthquake.
ALEXA ANNE WATSON: (Reading) The feeling of the nation must be quickened.
ISIDORE: (Reading) The conscience of the nation must be roused.
DOUGLASS WASHINGTON MORRIS II: (Reading) The propriety of the nation must be startled.
H WATSON: (Reading) The hypocrisy of...
SUMMERS: That's an excerpt of "What To The Slave Is The Fourth Of July" read by descendants of Frederick Douglass. Taking a cue from Douglass on July 5, communities across the country will participate in the inaugural Martyrs Day. It honors activists, protesters and social justice advocates. Maryland is one of the states participating in Martyrs Day, and Maryland's governor, Wes Moore, joins us now. Welcome to the program.
WES MOORE: It's my pleasure. Thank you so much.
SUMMERS: Governor, this is the first year of what organizers hope will be an annual July event. Tell us why you wanted Maryland to be a part of Martyrs Day.
MOORE: Because I think that Martyrs Day really helps to embody the complexity of this country. The United States still serves as the greatest experiment in world history. However, that does not mean that our history has been equal. That does not mean that our history has not been uneven, in some ways brutal. And for us to be able to move and navigate, it means we have to remember those who were willing to fight for the hope of us and willing to fight for a better society.
SUMMERS: And why is it so important to mark this occasion on July 5?
MOORE: Because I do think that July Fourth is a time for us to be able to remember and celebrate. But loving your country does not mean lying about its history, that loving your country means embracing all the complexity of your history. And so as we're going through and celebrating this - 250 years of this remarkable journey, I do think that being able to understand that remarkable does not mean perfect.
SUMMERS: Yeah. What might you say to people who might suggest that this is a protest against Independence Day, July Fourth, that it's a protest against patriotism?
MOORE: No, I'd say that patriotism isn't blind.
SUMMERS: Yeah.
MOORE: Patriotism isn't something that comes along with undying loyalty, regardless of actions that we're taking. Patriotism just simply means that we're willing to fight for a hope and fight for a promise and fight for an ideal.
SUMMERS: Governor, I read your proclamation, and in part of it, you say that, quote, "history is not self-sustaining and cannot defend itself." You encourage people to step up and join the fray. Are you pushing your fellow governors, other elected officials to also participate in this celebration?
MOORE: I am. But mainly, I'm also pushing all of our federal citizens, that for them to understand and remember why this day is so important, that, you know - we don't just stand on the shoulder of those - of the Founding Fathers. We stand on the shoulders of those who protested them. You know, we don't just stand on the shoulders of elected officials. We stand on the shoulders of those who pushed them to make them better. And that includes our martyrs, people like Frederick Douglass, a Marylander, who made our state and our country fundamentally better because he knew that fighting for the people of this country was worth it.
SUMMERS: I did want to ask you before I let you go about the personal significance here as a Black governor of a diverse state like Maryland. What does this mean to you personally?
MOORE: It means that while we have made progress, we have to acknowledge that there's more work that still needs to be done. And while we've made progress, we have to remember those who forced that progress to take place. There is an arc to our journey and one that we need to be honest about. And I am very clear that I am standing in the space that I'm standing in not in spite of my history, but because of it, that there are people who are willing to fight for the hope of me. And in that time, our ability to both remember those and to remind others that the job isn't finished - the journey continues, and it's our responsibility to understand our role and to be part of this much larger, bigger, greater process that this country started 250 years ago.
SUMMERS: That's Maryland's Democratic governor, Wes Moore. Thanks so much for talking with us.
MOORE: Great. Thank you so much. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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