Freedom From Fear

One month out from the international conference in London to discuss the reunification of Ireland, talks in Northern Ireland continue over the transfer of policing and justice powers from the UK. While both Britain and the Republic of Ireland support the devolution of powers, the current hitch is over parading. The DUP, representing the Orange Order, is still resisting restrictions on sectarian harassment, which everyone knows is the purpose of the Protestant clubs marching through Catholic neighborhoods banging drums and blowing horns.

Looking at newsreels from the 1920s in the US, when Ku Klux Klan robes and confederate flags flowed by the thousands past the Washington Monument in our nation’s capitol — one of the Blackest cities in our country — I have a sense of how far the Irish have come in seeking equality and freedom from fear.