I was the presiding judge at a jury trial, picking the
jurors, when one of the prospective jurors stated that he could not be fair to
the Defendant, as the Defendant was Hispanic.
While I had to discharge him from jury service, I could not let him go
without pointing out to him the irony that he was discriminating against this
Hispanic in the same manner that his (and my) ancestors were discriminated
against in this country.
My paternal great-grandparents emigrated from Ireland during
the Great Famine,[i] one of many waves of immigrants in a great
diaspora from that beleaguered country.
The Irish had long been portrayed as less than human. Cartoonists in the 18th and 19th
century drew them as apes, or worse.[ii] About the only work available for the Irish
immigrant was maid, railroad construction or law enforcement.
A song was written in about 1862 called “No Irish Need
Apply.”[iii] It describes an Irishman who is frustrated at
being denied the chance for a job that he desperately needs, and pummels the
prospective employer.[iv] (The Irish are famous for writing songs or
poems about their many challenges.)[v]
An aside: A professor
had written a scholarly article in 2002 that there were, in fact, no signs or advertisements
advising that No Irish Need Apply.
However, in 2015, a high school student was able to track down
documentary proof that not only did they exist, they were widespread and
persisted into the 20th Century.[vi]
On this St. Patrick’s Day Eve, I pause to reflect on the
challenges my forebears faced as they came to make a new life in this
country. And I reflect further on the
plight of today’s refugees – fleeing their homeland to escape famine, war and
persecution – just as my ancestors did.
I hope and pray that we will find the courage and kindness
to offer more succor to these unfortunates than was offered to the Irish.
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