Religion and Politics

Boston’s St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast Breaks Barriers, But Its Parade Does Not

Katharine Q. Seelye reports from Boston’s annual St. Patrick’s Day breakfast, which this year was hosted by State Senator Linda Dorcena Forry, a Haitian-American woman. Seelye writes, “And so began a barrier-breaking performance, when the first nonmale, nonwhite, nonresident of South Boston took over as M.C. of the signature cultural event of Southie, which had long been one of the most insular Irish enclaves in the city, if not the country.” She continues, “But even as the breakfast showcased the ‘new’ multicultural Boston, the traditional St. Patrick’s Day parade that followed was a reminder of the ‘old’ Boston that still exists. The Allied War Veterans Council, which organizes the parade, would not allow gays to march if they carried banners or signs proclaiming their sexual orientation.”

Read at The New York Times

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