Reading Rites and Artistic Process

Reading Rites:

The fourth chapter of Black and Green by Brian Dooley, “Irish America,” aimed to illuminate the similarities and differences between Irish and African Americans. The struggles to assimilate into the American culture were quite similar in many ways. Both groups were initially seen as lower class citizens, if they were even considered citizens, and had few rights. Although we typically think of slaves as only African Americans, Irish Americans made up a large portion of the slave population, as they were unable to get jobs outside of labor in most cases. These similarities and differences prompted an interesting dialogue between them.

One of the aspect of Black and Green I found very interesting was the dynamic relationship between the Irish Americans and African Americans. At the time, both groups were marginalized groups who lacked equal rights or opportunities when compared to other Americans. In some cases, this common factor brought the two groups together in a collaborative effort. I was shocked to find that almost 80% of Irish Americans surveyed at one point said that they would vote for an African American president. In other cases, however, the groups were still pitted against each other. Some African Americans still saw Irish people as just as bad as other white people and did not want their help. Once they advanced in their fight and got equal rights, many Irish Americans switched their tune and argued that African Americans simply needed to wait their turn.

The connection I am making here in Ireland is a little abstracted from the main idea of Black and Green, going off the idea of oppressed groups. One thing I have noticed is that there are still homeless people here. I do not know why I expected that there would not be homeless people here, but I admit that I was a little surprised the first time I saw one. This goes to show that there are some situations that are universal. As I got to see more of Cork, I realized that it is just like San Francisco, with crowded streets, lots of action, and clearly visible differences in class.

Looking back through history, it seems as though there must always be an oppressed group and their oppressor. From Native Americans to African Americans to Mexicans, there is always at least one group that is a treated as less than others. Do you think that we, as humans, have a natural need to have a sense of hierarchy between people or is this something we have learned and sustained over the years? Do you think we can ever truly find a balance or some kind of equality between groups? Is it fair to assume that there will always be a rotating cycle of groups that gets pushed to the bottom of the social ladder?

Photo by Natalie Leduc

Artistic Process: 

The workshops we have taken while in Ireland have helped me to find different ways of brainstorming as well as some writing strategies. I found the freewriting exercise where we just spend five minutes writing nonstop about anything with Cathy Darcy especially helpful. One of the vulnerabilities one could say I struggle with is that when I sit down to try to think of an idea for what I want to do on a project, I completely overthink it and have a difficult time. I am trying to just write down any ideas as they pop into my head now. For my project, I am currently considering trying to juxtapose images of nature and images of man-made cities or structures. With this, I aim to show my audience the beauty of the land and how important it is to conserve it.