Thefightagainstracism
BRAY woman Emer O’Neill was one of a group of people to gather at the bandstand in Bray last Saturday afternoon for an ‘All Eyez On USA’ demonstration, showing solidarity with black American people and to oppose racism, following the killing of George Floyd in America.
Emer, who is a teacher at North Wicklow Educate Together Secondary School in Bray, posted a video on social media last week, talking about her own experiences.
She thought very carefully before posting the video, talking it over with her husband before doing so. ‘I wasn’t sure about posting it, and didn’t know if I was ready. But as a black Irish woman in Ireland I thought my message needs to be heard.’
It has now been viewed more than 25,000 times and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.
‘I haven’t received a single negative comment,’ said Emer. People have apologised to her on behalf of those who were racist towards her, and reassured her that they are raising their children to be anti-racist.
‘It made me so proud of the people of Ireland and lifted a weight of anger and hurt from me. I can’t put into words the beautiful things people said and the support they have shown. They have made promises that they won’t allow this to be just a passing trend, but will mean real change in their lives.’
She, along with former election candidate Anne Waithira Burke, addressed supporters who held a socially distanced protest in Bray at the weekend.
Emer felt compelled to raise her own voice and join in the fight.
‘I’ve yet to be able to watch the George Floyd video because it brings too much pain to even think about what happened to him let alone actually bear witness to it,’ she said on her video.
She said that she has ‘ lost count’ of the amount of times she has been called the n word. ‘I’ve had stones thrown at me, I’ve been physically hit... People have made fun of my hair, the way that
I look. I’ve been discriminated against, judged, made feel like I was a piece of dirt and inferior to those around me,’ she said.
Emer, who lived in America for 10 years, said that racism is a taught thing, which then becomes a learned point of view and then a way of life.
‘It only stops with changes in mentality, and growth,’ she said. ‘ The racism that I’ve experienced has never been life threatening. I’ve never felt my life would be ended because of my colour.
‘I’m thankful that I can walk to and from the shop and enter my own home, go for a run, hold my phone and most importantly breathe. I can do all of these things without feeling that the gardaí, the ones there to protect me, would be the ones to kill me.
‘It’s not enough to be quietly non-racist,’ she said. ‘Now is the time to be vocally anti-racist. To stand together and to show that all lives matter.’