Civil Rights today

A Civil Rights Commemoration Committee has been established. The committee aims: to honour all those who took part in the Civil Rights movement; to examine the civil rights challenges at home and abroad today, especially in the light of racism and sectarianism; to support and strengthen the protection of civil/human rights in Ireland and to share the lessons of the Northern Ireland Civil Rights movement with people working for human rights in situations of conflict.

To that end the committee will organise a series of lectures, exhibitions, seminars and discussions in the coming months. The committee officers are: Denis Haughey, chair; Michael Farrell, vice-chair; Fionnbarra Ó Dochartaigh, treasurer and Frank McManus vice-treasurer. Amongst the committee members and patrons are many who were active during the period, including Paul Bew, Paul Arthur, Ivan Barr, Ivan Cooper, Francie Brolly, John Hume, Bernadette McAliskey, Jean Coyle, Dr Con McCluskey and Mrs Patricia McCluskey.

The press release issued by the committee says: “Forty years ago, in 1968, a series of events took place here which changed the face of Northern Ireland irrevocably. These events were the culmination of attempts since the early 1960s by a number of different organisations and individuals to highlight injustices in Northern Ireland. The Campaign for Social Justice, the Derry Housing Action Committee and the Campaign for Democracy in Ulster were examples of this.

“Their concern was not with the great constitutional issues which had dominated political debate thereto, but with the everyday issues which dominated people's lives. In 1967, the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association was founded to address all these issues. The following year, inspired by the courage of Civil Rights leaders in the United States, and by their example of peaceful non-violent protest, Civil Rights protesters began to take to the streets of Northern Ireland.

“Their objective was to bring an end to injustice in the system of public authority housing provision, injustice in public and private employment practices, injustice in voting and representational rights, and the arbitrary and oppressive powers available to the state to suppress dissent.

“The things that happened during that pivotal year had a profound effect upon our society, and precipitated an avalanche of change which left no part of our community untouched. Such was the importance of these events, and what they led to, that it is appropriate and even necessary, 40 years later, to commemorate them in a sober and reflective way, to seek to learn from what happened, to consider the significance of the Civil Rights Movement for our society today and the continuing resonance of the issues which it addressed, and the ideals which underpinned it.”

Information: Civil Rights Commemoration Committee, 66 Fairhill Road, Cookstown, Co Tyrone, BT80 8DF. Telephone: 078-842 370 62 or civilrights1968 [ - AT - ] yahoo.co.uk [Replace AT with @]