From left to right: Vivian Deleon, Father John McCarthy, Councilor Charles Yancey, Janice Galloway, Dr. Lorna Rinear, Renata Teodoro
On Sunday, May 5th the Irish International Immigrant Center (IIIC) along with the Montserrat Aspirers, Inc. (MAI) celebrated their 19th Annual Black & Green. The event was held at its signature location, the Montserrat Aspirers Hall on Washington St, Dorchester. This year’s theme, Immigration: Our Shared History, Stories and Future was chosen in respect to the critically importance of a comprehensive immigration reform to many immigrant families. Consequently, IIIC and MAI joined forces with the Student Immigrant Movement (SIM) and Keeping Families Together Coalition.

The event kicked off with MAI’s Caribbean cuisine, the screening of a short video about immigrants in the Media, Father John McCarthy–from the Irish pastoral Centre–sharing his experience in going to detention facilities and two daring presenters from SIM who shared their stories, with the participants, of being undocumented and having their families wrenched as a result of deportation. To keep discussion engaging and informative, Councilor Charles Yancey addressed what it would mean to Boston residents if a legislative on comprehensive immigration passes this year. Just before the Q&As section, Dr. Lorna Rinear exposed her research work on a Montserratian immigrant woman who was deported in the 70s but her story and experience are very much relevant to today immigration injustice.
Once again, the B&G event was a wonderful event with great turnout and engaging discussion. We could say that this year’s theme was a manifestation of IIIC’s commitment to helping immigrants from Ireland and other part of the world achieve a full integration in U.S. society.