News

Jesse Jackson Visits Northern Ireland, Meets with Families of “Bloody Sunday”

Published

7 years ago

June 14, 2017

Civil rights leader and two-time U.S. presidential candidate, Rev. Jesse Jackson was an honored guest and featured speaker at the opening of the new Museum of Free Derry in Derry, Northern Ireland.

The museum is dedicated to the civil rights movement in Northern Ireland from 1968 through 1972, a struggle modeled in no small measure after the African-American freedom movement led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and his band of talented lieutenants, including a young Baptist minister named Jesse Louis Jackson.

In his letter asking Rev. Jackson “to do the honors at our opening,” Museum of Free Derry chair Robin Percival said Rev. Jackson remains “an iconic figure in terms of the struggle for civil rights and social and economic justice throughout the world.”

Rev. Jesse Jackson

During his visit to Northern Ireland, Rev. Jackson will meet with families of the victims of Bloody Sunday – the day in 1972 when British paratroopers gunned down nonviolent marchers, protesting discriminatory incarceration practices.

Fourteen people, including six children, were killed. Seventeen other marchers were injured.

Rev. Jackson visited Derry in 2011 and toured the old museum, which has been completely rebuilt on the site where Bloody Sunday took place.

Percival said the new museum is in the process of developing a “twinning” relationship with the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute in Birmingham, Alabama and, “given our focus on civil rights and our growing links with the African-American struggle in the Deep South, we believe that it is entirely appropriate to ask Rev. Jackson” to “officiate” and speak at the opening.

He will also visit the gravesite of Martin McGuinness, a former Irish Republican Army commander and Sinn Fein political leader who helped negotiate peace in Northern Ireland and put an end to the “Troubles” that left 3,700 dead in internecine religious war.

McGuinness died in March after a brief illness at age 66.

Rev. Jackson met McGuinness during his 2011 visit to Derry and likens his evolution from warrior-to-peacemaker-to-elected official to that of Nelson Mandela and the freedom struggle in South Africa.

“The pattern of communities struggling for freedom, justice and democracy is essentially the same,” Rev. Jackson says. “Where there is no justice, there can be no peace. As Dr. King often reminded us, peace is not the absence of noise but the presence of justice.”

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Related Topics:Civil Rights Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.Free Derry Museum Jesse Jackson Northern Ireland

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Activism

S.F. Black Leaders Rally to Protest, Discuss ‘Epidemic’ of Racial Slurs Against Black Students in SF Public School System

Parents at the meeting spoke of their children as no longer feeling safe in school because of bullying and discrimination. Parents also said that reported incidents such as racial slurs and intimidation are not dealt with to their satisfaction and feel ignored.

Published

21 hours ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Rev. Amos C. Brown, president of the San Francisco NAACP and pastor of Third Baptist Church. Photo courtesy Third Baptist Church.

By Carla Thomas

San Francisco’s Third Baptist Church hosted a rally and meeting Sunday to discuss hatred toward African American students of the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD).

Rev. Amos C. Brown, president of the San Francisco NAACP and pastor of Third Baptist Church, along with leadership from local civil rights groups, the city’s faith-based community and Black community leadership convened at the church.

“There has been an epidemic of racial slurs and mistreatment of Black children in our public schools in the city,” said Brown. “This will not be tolerated.”

According to civil rights advocate Mattie Scott, students from elementary to high school have reported an extraordinary amount of racial slurs directed at them.

“There is a surge of overt racism in the schools, and our children should not be subjected to this,” said Scott. “Students are in school to learn, develop, and grow, not be hated on,” said Scott. “The parents of the children feel they have not received the support necessary to protect their children.”

Attendees were briefed last Friday in a meeting with SFUSD Superintendent Dr. Matt Wayne.

SFUSD states that their policies protect children and they are not at liberty to publicly discuss the issues to protect the children’s privacy.

Some parents said they have removed their students from school while other parents and community leaders called on the removal of the SFUSD superintendent, the firing of certain school principals and the need for more supportive school board members.

Community advocates discussed boycotting the schools and creating Freedom Schools led by Black leaders and educators, reassuring parents that their child’s wellbeing and education are the highest priority and youth are not to be disrupted by racism or policies that don’t support them.

Virginia Marshall, chair of the San Francisco NAACP’s education committee, offered encouragement to the parents and students in attendance while also announcing an upcoming May 14 school board meeting to demand accountability over their mistreatment.

“I’m urging anyone that cares about our students to pack the May 14 school board meeting,” said Marshall.

This resource was supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library via California Black Media as part of the Stop the Hate Program. The program is supported by partnership with California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to CA vs Hate.