The Frederick Douglass Civil Rights Festival returns to Wexford from November 6th to 21st, with a packed programme of events celebrating culture, history, social justice and workers’ rights….
The community-led festival, which takes place across Wexford town, features a diverse schedule of art, music, talks, panel discussions, community events and a fringe programme exploring a range of topical issues.
Speaking to Wexford Weekly, festival co-chair Jack Bergin said the event aims to provide a platform for contemporary struggles and important community campaigns.
“It’s a community-led festival in Wexford Town that platforms contemporary struggles for community campaigns, topical social issues, and workers’ rights through art, talks, music, and community events,” he explained.
The festival was first established in 2018 to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of Frederick Douglass, the renowned American abolitionist and civil rights campaigner who had a significant connection to Wexford.
American-born Wexford resident Ed Barker and his wife Deirdre, who is the festival’s current co-chair, discovered Douglass’s connection to the town and decided to honour his legacy through a community concert and the unveiling of a commemorative plaque at Wexford Arts Centre.
Douglass visited Wexford in October 1845, speaking over two nights in the same building that now houses Wexford Arts Centre. Bergin said his message remains just as relevant today.
“His message of agitation, solidarity, and emancipation still resonates as strongly today as it did then,” he said.
This year’s programme features a wide range of events, including a play reading of James Connolly’s lost work, The Agitator’s Wife, alongside a workers’ rights keynote address from the president of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.
Other highlights include panel discussions exploring domestic violence and femicide, as well as an event featuring former Republican and Black Panther Party political prisoners.
There will also be a Saturday night arts celebration, a community food event and a fringe programme taking place across the town, covering everything from radical literature and art for activism to the future of artificial intelligence.
Bergin highlighted World On A Plate, the community food event taking place on Sunday, November 15th, as one of the festival’s popular annual attractions.
He also pointed to the workers’ rights keynote on Friday, November 13th, as a particularly timely event, given the industrial action taking place in Wexford the previous day.
“Our keynote on Friday evening promises to be a timely conversation considering what’s next for workers in Wexford after the strike the day before,” he said.
Last year’s festival welcomed civil rights pioneer Bernadette Devlin McAliskey, who performed and spoke at a hugely attended event.
Tickets and reservations for this year’s events are available through the Wexford Arts Centre website.
Jason Redmond
From Gorey, Jason is the owner of Wexford Weekly. He is also a post-primary English and History teacher.
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