A Letter from Ireland

a Chara,

This week, we lost the Rev. Jessie Jackson. I had the privilege to hear him speak in Belfast many years ago. He spoke of hope, reconciliation, and the future. 

I can’t remember the details of what he said, but I remember how he said it. The rhythm and cadence of his voice as it rose and fell, quickened and slowed. It was not like anyone I had heard before. It was gospel, spiritual, musical, and far removed from the sermons at mass I had heard growing up. 
Selm
A shared sense of connection came alive in his words. His accent unfamiliar, his words of struggle are too familiar. 

I felt that connection again when I visited the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis—the site of the shooting of Dr King. Rev. Jackson was at his side that day. It is now the National Civil Rights Museum. I was stopped in my tracks by the sound of singing. A chorus of “We shall overcome”. It was a recording, not of a choir in a concert hall, but of protestors on a street. It could have been Selma or Derry. The US civil rights movement inspired the Irish civil rights movement. Injustice respects no boundaries, and hope can transcend borders.

Rev. Jackson remained a friend of Ireland and of Sinn Féin when our party was marginalised and censored. He supported calls for Irish unity in the 1980’s. As the peace process developed, he and other African American leaders, such as Rep. John Lewis and Rep. Donald Payne, stood on the side of human and civil rights. 

They challenged the record of abuses by the old Royal Ulster Constabulary and recognised that peace and reconciliation required a new beginning in policing. 

I remember sitting on a green outside the community centre in Portatown as we protested the imposition of an Orange march along the Garvaghy Road. Rep Payne sat across from us. He had travelled as an international observer to monitor the policing response. He placed himself on the frontline, recognising that sectarianism was just another version of racism. 

Rev. Jackson has left many friends in Ireland. Those who knew him always spoke of his good humour, his laugh, and his wide embrace. He returned to Ireland and to Derry in 2017 to open the Museum of Free Derry. A history of a risen people, inspired by leaders on the other side of the Atlantic, bound together in a fight against injustice, discrimination, and inequallity. 

In 2020, Rev. Jackson said, “We’re not going backwards; we’re not going to give up. It’s a healing time, it’s hope time. I stand with the people of Ireland and Irish Americans and Irish in Ireland.”

I’m not religious, but I’d say amen to that and thank you, Rev. Jackson.

Have a great weekend,