DERRY JOURNAL Editorial: Black Lives Matter - The scourge of racism

At the weekend hundreds upon hundreds gathered in Guildhall Square to demand justice for George Floyd and to highlight incidents of racism witnessed in the US and closer to home. Had it not been for the current restrictions and the fear of a COVID resurgence and the warnings from police that those attending could face sanctions the numbers would have run into several thousands such is the strength of feeling locally.

Whatever your opinion on the rights and wrongs of staging a protest in the current climate and whether the official response, the importance of this issue is clear.

Recently, the Journal highlighted the horrific racism experienced by some young children with a black parent in our own city. The mothers of those children pointed out that no child is born racist, it is learned behaviour and it’s here too. You only have to look at the crime statistics, with 936 racist hate incidents registered in NI by the PSNI in the year to March 2020, and 626 racist crimes.

How many of us would have access to the things we have today were it not for generations past taking a stand? In Ireland, we have been the dispossessed, we have long been a nation of migrants, scattered to the four winds and many of our forefathers and foremothers left from Derry’s quayside with little more than the clothes on their backs. Many of those people were the victims of racism and discrimination at their destinations, yet those that survived created vibrant communities and enriched those countries - just as the people from different nations who have made our region their home are doing here.

All those who live here should feel embraced, valued and included. Many strive to ensure that it is the case but there are still those who hold racist views and carry out racist attacks. And it is incumbent upon us to challenge racism wherever we find it in whatever way we are able to. As Martin Luther King said: ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere’.