Ruth Negga to join NYU's “Revisiting Black Irish Relations”

NYU's Glucksman Ireland House will continue its very timely online conference, “Revisiting Black Irish Relations and Responding to a Transnational Moment,” on Friday, November 19 starting at 9:15 a.m. In a week where the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict is almost certain to ignite further racial strife nationally, the question of how we attain real racial justice in a society that seems determined not to pursue it is all too relevant.

Emma Dabiri, the author of the recent "What White People Can Do Next", a book that teaches us how to be agents of change in the fight against racism and in the establishment of a more just and equitable world will be in conversation with professors Kim DaCosta and Miriam Nyhan Grey.

At 10:30 a.m., Rachel Swarns, New York Times and NYU journalist, author and professor will discuss “The Irish American Priests who Sold Human Beings: Georgetown University, the Catholic Church and the American Slave Trade,” in a panel moderated by Stephanie McCurry of Columbia University.

At noon, Fionnghuala (“Fig”) O'Reilly, Miss Universe Ireland 2019, and engineer will be in conversation with Grey. Combining beauty and brains, O'Reilly explodes any lingering cliches about the kind of woman who competes in beauty competitions, because in her day job she works for NASA.

Fionnghuala (“Fig”) O'Reilly, Miss Universe Ireland 2019.

At 2 p.m. Toure Reed of Illinois State University and author of The Case Against Race Reductionism, a book that asks in the age of runaway inequality and Black Lives matter, there is an emerging consensus that our society has failed to redress racial disparities, but who is the culprit? Reed will be introduced by James R. Barrett, emeritus, University of Illinois.

At 3:30 p.m. James Carroll (the National Book awardee) will discuss “The Politics of White Supremacy: A View from Irish Boston,” in a panel moderated by Kendra Field of Tufts University. Carroll is the author of 11 novels and eight works of non-fiction and lives in Boston.

At 5 p.m. Irish actress Ruth Negga, now starring in the new Netflix film "Passing", will be in conversation with Kim DaCosta and Miriam Nyhan Grey about her films and the perspective she brings to them as an Irish Ethiopian actress.

Ruth Negga (left) in "Passing".

The aim of the conference and programing is to “examine the constellations of blackness and Irishness in the history of the United States and beyond and use their example to ponder present conundrums around race, ethnicity, inequality and identity politics,” organizers said.

To register for the Friday conference and to receive the Zoom link click here.