Sarah Parker Remond lecturer, activist, and abolitionist Photo: Wikipedia
Continuing Christine Kinealy’s series on Black abolitionists who visited Ireland, we find, in Sara Parker Remond, a woman who was remarkable and fearless.
Frederick Douglass’s visit to Ireland 175 years ago—an experience that he described as “transformative”—has been commemorated on both sides of the Atlantic. However, Frederick was not the first or the last black abolitionist to spend time in the country, although he is the most celebrated. On 29 December 1858, Sarah Parker Remond sailed from Boston to Liverpool. Following a short stay in the north of England, Sarah travelled to Dublin, to lecture on abolition. Her gender not only marked her as an unusual spokesperson for abolition, but also her family connections. Sarah was the sister of Charles Lenox Remond who had lectured in Britain and Ireland in 1840 and 1841. During this time, he had spoken alongside Daniel O’Connell, then the leading figure in transatlantic abolition. But while Sarah was following in the footsteps of her brother, Charles, and of their friend, Frederick Douglass, she created a niche within the abolition movement that marked her out as being both remarkable and fearless. Who was Sarah?