Lilian Seenoi-Barr set to turn into Northern Ireland’s first Black mayor | EUROtoday

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Councillor Lilian Seenoi-Barr is ready to turn into the primary Black mayor in Northern Ireland.

The politician, who arrived in Northern Ireland as a refugee, has been chosen as the latest mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council.

This comes after she made historical past as the primary Black politician to be elected to public workplace in Northern Ireland final yr, when she was elected as a councillor within the Foyleside district of Derry.

Hailing her groundbreaking mayoral appointment on Monday, Kenya-born councillor Ms Seenoi-Barr mentioned she’s “proud to be a Maasai woman and a Derry girl”. She went on: “I cannot express how much the honour of serving as mayor of Derry and Strabane means to me.

“The people of this city have taken me into their hearts and everywhere I go I never fail to be amazed at the warmth, kindness and generosity of the people who live here. Having initially come to Derry as a refugee facing an uncertain future, I can now truly say that my family have found their home.

“The significance of my appointment as mayor is not lost on me, and I will work for every single person in this city regardless of their religion, ethnicity or background. These are the values I have carried with me since getting involved in politics and are reflected in the ethos of my party.”

The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) welcomed Councillor Seenoi-Barr’s upcoming appointment, praising her as “a source of constant enthusiasm, energy and positivity” and “a valued addition to the SDLP family”.

Ms Seenoi-Barr, 42, has been working with the council since 2021, and has campaigned on gender rights points for Maasai ladies, pressured marriage and feminine genital mutilation.

Moreover, she is the founder and director of town’s North West Migrants Forum, which helps Black and minority ethnic communities who stay in Northern Ireland.

At the peak of the worldwide Black Lives Matter protests in 2021, the councillor organised demonstrations and spoke out in opposition to systemic racism.

Ms Seenoi-Barr will take over from Derry City and Strabane Council’s present mayor, Sinn Fein’s Patricia Logue.

The mayoral choice course of has been criticised by some get together members as “undemocratic” and prompted the resignation of present deputy mayor Jason Barr, who left the SDLP and can now stand as an impartial councillor.

Mr Barr and one other councillor, Shauna Cusack, had each deliberate to run in opposition to Ms Seenoi-Barr however mentioned they had been sidelined.

Their protestations weren’t “sour grapes”, the pair insisted, however furthermore mirrored a “genuine concern about the lack of democracy in the process”.

In a joint assertion, they mentioned that they’d been rejected as candidates for the function, “removing us from the process and competition, in order to put only one candidate forward for the post”.

For the primary time in historical past, not one of the UK governments is led by a white man: Rishi Sunak is of Indian heritage, Wales simply chosen its first chief of African heritage in Vaughan Gething. Scotland elected a son of Pakistani immigrants, Humza Yousaf, as its first minister final yr, though he has now resigned. Michelle O’Neill is the primary minister of Northern Ireland.

Ms Seenoi-Barr has been celebrated by Kenyan figures together with senator Ledama Olekin who posted on Twitter/X: “Please join me in congratulating my baby sister Councillor Lilian Seenoi for being elected as the first Black, Maasai mayor of the City of Derry, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom.”

Ms Seenoi-Barr has beforehand mentioned that racial equality is an “afterthought” in Northern Ireland, regardless of the progress being made in advancing equality in public life. She pointed to the truth that Northern Ireland’s new government doesn’t have any politicians who’re of minority ethnic heritage.

Though Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom and the Irish Republic is a separate nation, Ms Seenoi-Barr’s appointment will inevitably evoke reminiscences of Nigerian-Irish politician Rotimi Adebari’s appointment as the primary Black particular person to turn into a mayor within the Republic of Ireland in 2007.