By Aleighia Rouse, Cross Cultural Communication student at Danish Institute for Study Abroad, DIS, spring 2015.
Cultural and Societal Relations between Northern Irish Catholics and the African-Americans in North America
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think about Northern Ireland? Leprechauns, the color green, beer?
Well for me the first that comes to mind is cultural division. Many do not know about the hundred years old colonial story of Northern Ireland and the divide between the original Irish inhabitants of the territory, mostly Catholics, and the British descendant, mostly Protestants, that has caused numerous of generations of Northern Irish people to grow up in a culture that at times have discriminated against certain religious affiliations.
At first visiting Northern Ireland you might think that in this division there is an equality of rights for each side of the divide that is still obvious in the streets of Belfast after the stride from the late 60s to the 90s, when the two parts reached political peace: But it has not always been like that either socially, culturally or politically. And for a very long time there was not an equality between the two groups.
For those unfamiliar with the conflict, Dr. Dominic Bryan, a professor at Queen’s University who our cross cultural communication class visited, can sum up the bases of the conflict among the the sectarian groups in Northern Ireland. He provides this knowledge through his article, “Between the national and the civic: Flagging peace in, or a peace of, Northern Ireland”:
The Protestant community, Unionist and loyal to British monarchy…majority of population in Northern Ireland, dominated politics and power…Catholic community broadly supports a united Ireland, meaning that the six Irish counties the comprise Northern Ireland left the United Kingdom and became part of the Republic of Ireland.” (Bryan, 103)[1].
What was even more interesting, was that Dr. Dominic Bryan allowed for our class to see that this kind of cultural, societal and political division and discrimination is not only a plane ride away in Northern Ireland, but also in our own American backyard.
Dr. Bryan asked our group to look at events within the U.S. historically that have provided some cohesion to the cultural indifference of the two Northern Irish groups.
He compared the indifference among the Catholic population as an unjustly treated minority to that of my own culture, which I found very enlightening: Because when you really take a closer look the cohesion among the African-American community’s struggle and Catholic communities of Northern Ireland’s struggle, they seem more and more similar.
Take a look at the image above: This picture captures exactly what Dr. Bryan talked about: The photo shows a mural at the catholic road Falls Road in Belfast, showing how the local Irish Catholics compare their struggle for human rights with the one of the African-Americans. The mural shows a variety of African-Americans that have made monumental accomplishments for our people through fighting for freedom and equality.
When looking at the treatment of Catholics in Northern Irish history, i.e. their problems with going to certain parts of town, I can relate to the kind of limitation from personal experiences: As a child, I endured mistreatment based on my racial and minority status, so in that way I feel I can connect with the Catholics of the Northern Irish population.
It was also a very beautiful sight for me to see that the struggle of people from my culture can somehow shed visible light for others that have been oppressed halfway around the world. For me it was overwhelming and wonderful at the same time, to feel a connection with people I know nothing about but can relate to on a social and cultural level.
[1] Dominic Bryan, “Flag, Nation and Symbolism in Europe and America”.
Cross Cultural Communications in Belfast 