Another Meaning of ‘Black Irish’: White Nationalism and the Mythology of Irish Slavery

Synopsis
This paper examines the historiography of Irish migrants to colonial and antebellum America and the ways in which elements thereof have inadvertently fostered misconceptions about 'Irish slavery' which have been seized upon by white nationalists in the United States in attempts to discredit Black Lives Matter and other racial justice endeavours. It then looks more broadly at current discourses about 'modern slavery,' and explores the ways in which misconceptions on the part of individuals and organisations on both the political right and left have obscured the historical meaning and lived experience of Atlantic slavery.