How Frederick Douglass launched generations of Black and Irish solidarity

Code Switch

NPR

Society & Culture

4.6 • 14.5K Ratings

🗓️ 10 April 2024

⏱️ 36 minutes

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Summary

What's a portrait of Frederick Douglass doing hanging in an Irish-themed pub in Washington, D.C.? To get to the answer, Parker and Gene dive deep into the long history of solidarity and exchange between Black civil rights leaders and Irish republican activists, starting with Frederick Douglass' visit to Ireland in 1845.

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0:00.0	This message comes from NPR's sponsor, Organic Valley, the farmer-owned cooperative dedicated to providing ethically sourced food from small organic family farms.
0:09.5	Discover how you can support local organic farmers at o v. coop slash ethically sourced.
0:16.0	Hey everyone you're listening to Code Switch.
0:20.0	I'm B. A. Parker and I'm Jean Dembe.
0:22.0	So Jean, what's up? When I last visited DC, we grabbed this Uber together. Do you remember this?
0:28.6	Mm-hmm. There we go. Fun fact, did you know that the pan-African flag is, the green is for the Irish?
0:36.0	Are you serious? In solidarity with their struggle?
0:39.4	What did you just tell me? That's what, Marcus Garvey was interviewed in 1920 and he was like it's black red and green the green is for Irish solidarity.
0:47.5	Yeah. I still cannot process this way., is that true, Parker?
0:53.2	What?
0:54.2	Kinda, sorta.
0:56.1	Like, okay, the more common story, the more common story
1:00.7	about the green in that flag is that it symbolizes the natural fertility of
1:05.2	Africa.
1:06.2	Right, that's what I heard.
1:07.2	Right, but also it makes sense why that story is compelling enough that we'd both believe it.
1:13.2	I mean Garvey was known for his solidarity with Irish self-determination
1:18.0	and he was outspoken during the Irish War of Independence
1:21.8	and often drew parallels between Irish freedom and Black freedom.
1:25.6	And Irish people have a reputation for solidarity with colonized people because they themselves
1:30.4	were colonized by the Brits. And look, in the context of where we were going in the Uber,
1:37.0	it made sense.
	...

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