Belfast. We stand as one.

Text of speech given by Patrick Corrigan at the anti-racism solidarity rally in front of Belfast City Hall, Saturday 10 August 2024

Last Saturday in this very spot, I spoke of Dr Martin Luther King’s Beloved Community, his aspiration for a community in which everyone is cared for, a community which celebrates their diversity and where people truly love their neighbours as they love themselves. It’s a community like the Belfast that we know and love.

But right now, in this city and beyond, people are hurting. People are living in fear.

People of colour, and Muslims in particular, have been threatened and attacked as they go about their lives.

Children are afraid to go out to play, adults are scared to go to work and people of faith are fearful of going to pray.  

Let’s get one thing straight. Minoritised communities are not responsible for the failure of politicians to address poverty and inequality in our society.

Some people in power have scapegoated marginalised communities and long stirred the pot of racism and bigotry.

Now they act surprised when the pot of hatred boils over.

Let’s be clear. Racist violence didn’t start here last Saturday.

It didn’t start three weeks ago when eight families were put out of their homes in Antrim.

And it didn’t start three years ago when the Belfast Multi Cultural Association was burnt out by men in balaclavas.

Racist violence has been a real and present danger here for far too long.

But all too rarely have those responsible been held to account. No wonder they feel emboldened.

Racism is a stain on our communities. Paramilitary violence is a scourge on our communities.

This week of shame must be a wake-up call for our politicians and the police. There must be zero tolerance for racism in all its manifestations.

Yet, amidst the darkness, there is hope.

This is a city of compassion.

Yes, we are a city that is wounded, but we are a city that reaches out with love when someone is hurting.

The Ormeau Road residents who came out to defend their neighbours.

The Donegall Road neighbours who used their own bodies to physically shield a man being brutally assaulted.

The Falls Road community who responded with solidarity when their local ethnic food supermarket was attacked.

And let’s not forget the thousands of people who have donated this week to support people and businesses attacked by racists.

Today in this spot, I can see Dr King’s Beloved Community. Standing here in Belfast all around me.

A community, despite this dark week, standing up for human rights, standing in solidarity and love.

Let’s take that love and solidarity and spread it into every corner of this city, into every home and every community.

We are stronger than those who want to divide us. We stand as one.