The Irish, who, at home, readily sympathize with the oppressed everywhere, are instantly taught when they step upon our soil to hate and despise the Negro… Sir, the Irish-American will one day find out his mistake.
— Frederick Douglass, May 10, 1853
Passage to the United States seems to produce the same effect upon the exile of Erin as the eating of the forbidden fruit did upon Adam and Eve. In the morning, they were pure, loving, and innocent; in the evening guilty.
— The Liberator, August 11, 1854
The Irish are the blacks of Europe. So say it loud— I’m black and I’m proud.
— The Commitments, 1991
Paddy might have worked as an insult way back when we thought America was anything else than a huge fucking mistake. Today it’s a badge of honour—the worst thing to ever happen to the Irish was “becoming white”.
I think the opening quotes in How the Irish Became White tell an amazing story in just a few sentences:
Paddy might have worked as an insult way back when we thought America was anything else than a huge fucking mistake. Today it’s a badge of honour—the worst thing to ever happen to the Irish was “becoming white”.