Written by Sara Duddy, programme manager at Holywell Trust. The Community Relations Council supports the organisation though its Core Funding Scheme.
Holywell Trust recently hosted its final Forward Thinking workshop, featuring vital insights from leading race relations experts Dr. Ebun Joseph and Dr. Naomi Green. The workshop was both hard-hitting and timely. It took place against a tense local backdrop, following a security alert that paralyzed half of Derry-Londonderry, and just weeks after a wave of racist violence shook streets across the region. Just a few days later we were confronted with the horrifying images of an effigy of a Mosque being burnt on top of a bonfire.
The legacy of exclusion and statelessness
Dr. Ebun Joseph, the founder and CEO of the Institute of Antiracism and Black Studies, who also serves as Ireland’s Special Rapporteur on Racial Equality and Racism, outlined the lasting damage caused by the 2004 Irish citizenship referendum. This policy change has left a generation of young people born in Ireland effectively stateless.
The repercussions disproportionately affect black and minority ethnic communities, severely restricting their ability to live full lives today. Furthermore, it limits their capacity to have a meaningful say in the constitutional future of these islands. Challenging the audience, Ebun forced a deep reflection on what it truly means to "belong."
Moving beyond rigid political blocs
Dr. Naomi Green, Assistant Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain and lead researcher on the North West Migrants Forum’s Hidden Histories Project, urged against treating minority groups as uniform political blocs. Focusing on the Muslim community, she noted there is no single, predictable "Muslim view" regarding a potential border poll.
Opinions are wide and diverse, shaped by the same daily issues that impact everyone: healthcare, education, economic stability, and the cost of living. Naomi criticised the traditional, rigid categorisation of Northern Irish society:
"We draw a line around CNR (Catholic, Nationalist, Republican) and PUL (Protestant, Unionist, Loyalist), but don’t recognise that we have unionist Muslims and nationalist Muslims. A fundamental problem is labelling them as the ‘Other’ and not recognising them as British or Irish."
From online rhetoric to street violence
The discussion also addressed the terrifying escalation of local racism and Islamophobia, which Naomi described in gut-wrenching detail as "pure dystopia." She shared the devastating impact on families and children forced to flee targeted, systematic attacks on their homes. While community leaders, volunteers, and organisations stepped up to guide people to safety, statutory bodies and the police faced criticism for failing to adequately manage the crisis.
The panel highlighted a dangerous shift: Hate has moved from online rhetoric to organised street violence, with the Chief Constable confirming that loyalist paramilitaries directed attacks in certain areas.
What next?
Reflecting on the large anti-racist rallies that followed the violence, Ebun posed a vital question to the room: "After the protests – what next?" The workshop concluded that tackling this growing crisis requires a seismic shift. To build an inclusive and peaceful future, Northern Ireland must move past superficial gestures. True progress demands deep education, the systematic dismantling of assumptions based on race or religion, and creating genuine opportunities to talk, listen, and understand.
Forward Thinking is a SEUPB and Derry City and Strabane District Council PeacePlus funded project, examining the constitutional future question through a series of study visits and workshops.
Impact profile
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