SALISBURY — Since the age of two when Tristan Muhammad said he got into trouble for talking, he has been using his voice to share information and important facts to others, and his dream is to use his voice and one day become a voice actor.
On June 25 at Livingstone College, he used his voice to share an excerpt from Statesman and Abolitionist Frederick Douglass’ speech, “What, to the Slave, is the Fourth of July?” as part of an America 250 event, which served as a tribute to Douglass’ legacy of liberty and equality.
The event, organized by Gwen Jackson, founder of Future Scapes, Inc., a nonprofit organization in Salisbury and Laura Johnson, director of Library Services at Livingstone College, was held on the steps of the Andrew Carnegie Library at the college.
In addition to Muhammad sharing the speech, the program featured multiple musical selections including a performance of “Go Down Moses” by Teresa Moore-Mitchell, assistant professor at Livingstone College, and “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands,” sung by Mia Mason, a 2026 Livingstone College graduate.
Muhammad, of Winston-Salem, is a 2026 graduate of North Forsyth High School, where, among his accomplishments, he served as Mr. North Forsyth of the Student Government Association, was president of the drama club and vice president of the National Honor Society.
Muhammad will attend North Carolina Central University on a full scholarship and major in mass communication with a concentration in broadcast media with the hope, he said, of becoming a radio personality and do acting on the side until eventually voice acting becomes the main thing.
Not wanting to boast and claim it himself, Muhammad said, “according to others, I have a way of commanding attention and being able to engage people when I speak and so being able to relay important messages is something I’ve been able to use my voice for and something I want to continue to do as my career after this.”
Last year, he competed in a Martin Luther King Jr. oratorical competition organized by Dr. Pamela Jackson of East Spencer and won three awards, first place, Best Written Manuscript and Most Poised. It was through this competition that Jackson learned of Muhammad and invited him to come and present the speech.
Jeffrey Cockerl, reference/instruction librarian at the college, introduced Muhammad, who, he said, would “bring Douglass’ monumental speech to life.”
When asked what he hoped those hearing it would take with them, Muhammad said the speech was originally given in the 1800s, but he thinks that “it’s still important to remember these things. There’s a reason that Frederick Douglass gave this speech. There’s a reason why things happen the way they do. Just because things change doesn’t mean it’s no longer relevant or it’s not important,” he said.
The speech’s main subject, he said, is “seeing the fourth of July from the slave’s perspective and while slavery is no longer in practice in the United States right now, we still see a lot of its aftereffects to this day and so it’s important I think that we are cognizant of what that was, what that really looked like and how we as a society are able to move forward from it.”
Sharing a quote from the speech, Muhammad said, “‘we are to take the important things from the past and use that to inform your future’” and his being able to share the speech hundreds of years afterward is an example, noting that we can still take something away from it, realizing people have different perspectives and acknowledge those differences and that “there’s still a lot of work to be done.”
Following the presentation, Jackson and Johnson shared remarks and thanked him for his performance and the wonderful job he did in pulling out the most impactful parts of the speech.
“Tristan was able to do his own interpretation of it and bring it to us and get a good meaning of what Frederick Douglass was trying to say,” said Johnson.
Jackson said he “helped us to understand what our people were dealing with in those days. He created the excerpts that he performed from the 40-page speech. Well done.”
The evening began with prayer by the Rev. David C. Camps, pastor of First Calvary Baptist Church in Salisbury and AVP for Sponsored Programs and Foundation Relations at Livingstone College. He prayed that the Lord would bless the memory of Douglass “as a beacon of learning truthtelling and unwavering advocacy for human dignity.”
Pete Teague, vice president for External Relations of the college, welcomed everyone on behalf of Livingstone President Dr. Anthony J. Davis.
Teague said if Davis were there, he is sure he would want them to know that “Livingstone is the fastest growing HBCU in the country over the past three years.”
At the conclusion of the event, plaques of appreciation were presented to those who participated and Teague gave a special thanks to Jackson and Johnson who organized the event.
“This would not have happened without them,” he said.
Moore-Mitchell said being a part of the day meant the world to her. Noting that she was there as a soloist and educator, she said she tells her students that she believes in sharing her gift to “educate people on different levels. So that it’s not just classical music, singing words, singing notes, but singing the text, singing the speeches, singing the hymns and actually reaching people in their minds and their hearts.”
She also passed along a favorite quote from Douglass, telling that “knowledge makes a man unfit to be a slave. Education means emancipation. Therefore, it means light and liberty.”
Johnson said she was so excited they were able to do this and work with Future Scapes “because they brought the idea to us and we were able to work together, to pull the community together for this event, and I’m just so excited that it went well, that we had so many people attend. I’m was just very glad that we were able to do this together and share some more information with the community and the school about what’s going on in the world.”
“Future Scapes is incredibly honored and grateful to be a part of this milestone event,” said Jackson. “To stand inside a space as monumental as the Andrew Carnegie Library, built by the hands of Black artisans and students, and to help breathe fresh life into Frederick Douglass’ enduring words is a profound privilege.”
Pamela Jackson shared that for her watching Muhammed speak felt so great, as she noted his humility and how he is at ease when he speaks.
Shelia Gorham, a judge in the oratorical contest, said seeing him in this venue made her really proud.
All were invited to gather afterward for a reception and opportunity to tour the library.
