IMPERFECT PARALLELS: THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENTS IN THE USA AND IRELAND

Tuesday,October 19, 2021 at 4:00 pm EDT

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In this symposium, which is the first of five symposia in the John Lewis-John Hume Symposium on Social Justice and Civil Rights series, we will focus on parallels that could be drawn, even if imperfectly, between the history of civil rights in the USA and Ireland. We also wish to reflect, collectively, on how we might best apply the lessons learned from the civil rights movement in the twentieth century, in the USA and in Ireland, to “the unfinished business” and “ongoing struggle” for civil and human rights in the twenty-first century.

Participating panelists will consider the following questions: What analogies can be drawn, if any, between the US and Ireland when it comes to civil rights? In what ways are the geopolitical situations disanalogous, dissonant rather than resonant, whether fifty years ago or today, when considering the African American civil rights movement and the Northern Ireland civil rights movement? What was the aftermath of both movements, and what progress has been made since those victories in terms of peace and reconciliation? What lessons have we learned, or should have learned, from the history of the civil rights movement and how might those lesson be applied to issues still confronting us today?

Vicki Crawford.jpeg — Dr. Vicki Crawford

*Associate professor of Africana Studies and Director of the Office of the Morehouse College Martin Luther King, Jr. Collection*

Managing an archive containing over 13,000 items belonging to Dr. King. As Director, she develops campus-based programming and community outreach initiatives that advance the teachings and philosophy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. Crawford is a civil rights scholar whose groundbreaking volume of essays, Women in the Civil Rights Movement: Trailblazers and Torchbearers (1993) was one of the first publications to address the under-researched role of women in the African American freedom struggle. Her most recent publication is Reclaiming the Great World House: The Global Vision of Martin Luther King Jr. (University of Georgia Press, 2019). She has published numerous essays and book chapters on the Civil Rights Movement and has a strong interest in public history, having conducted workshops and seminars for middle and high school teachers as well as community leaders.

Tyriq Jackson.jpg — Tyriq Jackson

*Public Diplomacy & Research Officer at the Consulate General of Ireland, Atlanta*
Graduated from Morehouse College with a degree in Political Science and minor in Education. During his undergraduate coursework, Tyriq participated in Bard College’s Globalization and International Affairs program in New York City. Currently, Tyriq is completing his master’s degree in Technology Leadership & Management at Agnes Scott College where he was selected in 2020 to serve as Graduate Council President. Prior to joining the Consulate, Tyriq served as Special Projects Specialist to Senator-elect Jon Ossoff. He has also worked on the campaigns of fellow democratic leaders like Stacey Abrams and Andrew Yang

Don Mullan 2.jpg — Don Mullan

*Author, Humanitarian and Media Producer*
Don was born during the Northern Ireland “Troubles” and a teenage witness to Bloody Sunday on January 30, 1972, in Derry. His first book, the bestseller Eyewitness Bloody Sunday (1997), is recognized as a primary catalyst in the establishment of the new Bloody Sunday Inquiry, which led to an historic apology by Prime Minister David Cameron on June 15, 2010. It also inspired the award-winning movie ‘Bloody Sunday’, directed by Paul Greengrass. Mr. Mullan served as source writer, co-producer, and actor in the film, which won several international awards including Sundance and Berlin Film Festivals (2002).

Dr FrederICK Knight

*Associate professor of history and director of the Institute for Research, Civic Engagement, and Policy in the Andrew Young Center for Global Leadership at Morehouse College.*
Prior to coming to the College, Knight served on the faculty of the University of Memphis and Colorado State University. He offered courses and published on a range of topics in black history, and he is the author of Working the Diaspora: The Impact of African Labor on the Anglo-American World, 1650-1850 (NYU Press, 2010).

Ailbhe Smyth.jpg — Dr. Ailbhe Smyth

*Founding Head of Women’s Studies at UCD (University College Dublin)*
Dr. Smyth lectured at UCD for many years, and is a long-time feminist, LGBTIQ and socialist activist. She was a strategic advisor for the Marriage Equality campaign, co-founded and led the Coalition to Repeal the 8th Amendment, and was co-director of the Together for Yes national abortion referendum campaign. She is currently the Chair of Women’s Aid, and also of Ballyfermot STAR Addiction Services, and is a director of Age Action Ireland. She is a founding member of Le Cheile: Diversity not Division, a cross-sectoral alliance set up in 2020 to challenge far right extremism in Ireland. Ailbhe’s role in the Together for Yes campaign was recognised by her inclusion on the Time Magazine list of the ‘World’s 100 Most Influential People’ in 2019.

Amanda AdéWole

*Creative Director at Black and Irish, Digital Content Creator, Scientist and Activist*
Amanda is passionate about young people and pushing for change in social justice issues. Ade was born in South Africa to a Nigerian father and South African mother, but moved to Ireland when she was two, growing up in Kildare. As one of the four hosts of the Black and Irish podcast – along with Leon Diop, Boni Odoemene and Femi Bankole and spawned from the Black and Irish Instagram account – she's become one of the leading young voices on race and race relation. Amanda holds a degree in Analytical Chemistry, and is currently finishing a Masters degree.

Dr. Kipton E. Jensen

*Associate professor of philosophy and the director of the Leadership Studies Program in the Andrew Young Center for Global Leadership (AYCGL) at Morehouse College -* ***MODERATOR***
Aswell as his duties at Morehouse College, Dr. Jensen coordinates the Prison Education Program at Morehouse. Jensen recently published a collection of Howard Thurman’s Sermons on the Parables (Orbis Books, 2018) and a manuscript titled Howard Thurman: Philosophy, Civil Rights, and the Search for Common Ground (University of South Carolina Press, 2019). Jensen has published essays on Benjamin E. Mays, Martin Luther King, Black Marxism in the USA, the philosophy of education, and the social justice leadership legacy at Morehouse College. Prior to coming to Morehouse College, Dr. Jensen taught philosophy at the University of Botswana (2004-2008).

Introductions will be provided by Dennis Brownlee, Founder and Chairman of the African American Irish Diaspora Network, and Sarah Keane, Chargé d’affaires, Consulate General of Ireland in Atlanta.