Hurray for revolution and more canon shot!
A beggar upon horseback lashs a beggar on foot
Hurray for revolution and canon come again,
The beggars have changed places but the lash goes on
- WB Yeats

Part 1: A Beggar Upon Horseback: The Context, From Frederick Douglass to Today
Featuring Frederick Douglass's "Letter from Belfast" read by John Douglas Thompson, followed by a panel discussion led by Dr. Miriam Nyhan Grey
Monday, November 9 at 7pm

Irish Repertory Theatre marks the 175th anniversary of Frederick Douglass’s historic trip to Ireland with a dramatic reading by award-winning actor John Douglas Thompson of Douglass’s Letter from Belfast, written on January 1, 1846. In this letter, Douglass recounts his impressions of the Irish people, describing “warm and generous co-operation.”
The reading will be followed by a panel led by Dr. Miram Nyhan Grey in which scholars and writers of Irish-American and African-American history will discuss the emigration of the Irish to America, and the complexity of Black and Irish interactions in the American experience: sometimes as allies and sometimes as aggressors. This conversation will span the infamous Draft Riots of 1863 to Irish-America as we know it today.

Part 2: A Beggar on Foot: Creating Change in Irish Arts
Tuesday, November 10 at 2pm

After exploring the complex intersections of Irish-American and African-American history in Day 1, the second day of discussion will center on the role of Irish cultural institutions in the push for racial equity.

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