#DouglassWeek
#DouglassWeek is an all-island, collaborative event series that celebrates the arrival of Frederick Douglass in Ireland between 1845-1846, during which time he lectured to packed audiences, met with Daniel O’Connell and reflected upon the devastating effects of the famine then beginning to sweep the nation. The week is marked by a variety of performative events, creative installations and critical discussion, offering a collection of responses to address the footprint of Douglass in Ireland. Between the 8th-14th February, 2021, we invite you to join us on Douglass’s journey across the island by watching and participating in unique “Creative Commemorations” projects from Douglass enthusiasts all across the Emerald Isle.
A provisional outline of DouglassWeek events can be found on our Initiatives page. The full programme of #DouglassWeek events will be published here in on the 1st of February, 2021.
“I have spent some of the happiest days of my life since landing in this country. I seem to have undergone a transformation. I live a new life.”
— Frederick Douglass, 1846
Talk about it.
After a week of celebrations, #DouglassWeek will wrap up with a discussion and reflection by leading scholars and experts from Ireland and abroad, who will convene to discuss the nature of Douglass “transformation” in an expert panel.
These experts will consider topics such as the importance of Douglass’s Irish experience to his broader career, his encounters with Daniel O’Connell and temperance reformer Father Theobald Mathew, the parallels between the Irish and the American struggles for freedom, and the relevance of Douglass’s fight for equality and justice to contemporary issues around migration and refugee experiences in Europe.
Film it.
#DouglassWeek will also mark the beginning of production for an upcoming documentary about Douglass’s life.
There will be film viewings of different, Douglass-related films as well as documentaries and short films about related topics like racism and racial justice, human and civil rights activism, social activism, refugee crises, American-Irish relations, creative forms of commemoration, and other related topics that remain relevant in the 21st century.
The highlights of the event will be filmed, and made widely available via this website.
Connect it.
The event series aims to connect people in Ireland, the US and the world, who share an interest and passion for Frederick Douglass, American Irish relations, civil rights activism, creative commemoration and other, related topics. By combining creative expression with academic reflection, Ireland with America, and the past with the present, this week of events will foster exciting connections between many different public and national and international bodies like the Frederick Douglass Family Initiative, University College Cork, the Irish Embassy in D.C. and US Embassy in Dublin, the Irish Association for American Studies and many others partners and supporters.
#DouglassWeek strives to widen public awareness of the importance of remembering slavery and the intertwined struggle for independence and liberation in Ireland and the U.S., as well as to develop a more nuanced and complex understanding of Ireland as we know it today.