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In the centennial of W.E.B. DuBois’ The Souls of Black Folk I am reminded of his notion of double consciousness. “One ever feels his twoness—an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body.” This “peculiar sensation” that DuBois describes at the turn of the twentieth century is also clearly expressed within Frederick Douglass’ 1852 speech, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” Within this speech Douglass confronts the highly patriotic majority with the shackled reality of enslaved Black folk. As Douglass passionately interrogates his audience, his internal dialogue is revealed. I posit that it is precisely Douglass’ psychic duality that puts his inherent enslaved African connection and his undoubted American existence in contention; a battle that is fought