Martin Luther King didn’t just inspire generations of Americans with his non-violent campaign for civil rights, he also inspired many Irish people and civil rights campaigners, most notably the late John Hume.

King wrote: “Resistance and non-violence aren’t good in themselves. There’s another element that must be present in our struggle which makes resistance and non-violence truly meaningful. That element is reconciliation.“

Unfortunately Martin Luther King was taken too soon. As was Robert Kennedy. Hume also expended his health in the quest for a settled reconciliation between the two main traditions in Ireland.

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King, Kennedy and Hume fought for legislative frameworks which built in protections, enshrined human rights, respected difference and created space for diversity to thrive.

Belfast is a dirty slum which reeks of decay and dereliction - Jake O’Kane

Don’t........

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