HUNDREDS of column inches have been filled over the past week since a brutal attack in Belfast left a man with life-threatening injuries and a shocking viral video circulated on social media.

We know that the violence that was perpetrated against black and minority ethnic people in the aftermath was not triggered by this one event.

We know that it followed racist and sectarian protests against the Great March for Gaza that took place in Scarva the previous Saturday, and the burning of a planned Asian supermarket on the Shankill in the early hours of Sunday.

In the aftermath, political leaders, community organisations and residents have rightly condemned the attacks and expressed solidarity with those affected.

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Yet history teaches us that condemnation alone is never enough.

If the north of Ireland is to emerge stronger from this moment, we must move beyond expressions of outrage and commit to the long-term work of confronting racism, sectarianism and xenophobia wherever they exist.

Part of that has to involve honest self-reflection.

When we think about racial violence and racial inequality, we must recognise that systems of oppression are not sustained solely by extremists or overt acts of hatred.

They are........

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