Sinn Féin MP Paul Maskey has praised community organisations in West Belfast who have commissioned a mural at the Falls Road International Wall highlighting the death of George Floyd and supporting the Black Lives Matter campaign.
Speaking the West Belfast MP said:

“The brutal killing of George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis has been broadcasted across the world.

“The killing of George Floyd has again brought the issue of racism within the US justice system and the socio-economic exclusion of the black community in the United States to the fore.

“The harrowing footage of George’s live being taken from him has sparked widespread protests and acts of solidarity across the globe.

“The community of West Belfast has a proud and long-standing history of standing up for the rights of the oppressed and proactively challenging the cancers of fascism and racism in our society.

“Whether that was local men joining the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War to fight against fascism, our close relationship with the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa or on the streets of Belfast today as our community rallies to support refugees.

“I am delighted that Fáilte Feirste Thiar and Féile An Phobail have joined up with local artists to paint a mural expressing our community’s continued solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and those campaigning for rights, economic inclusion and an end to repression in the United States.

“I am proud to be anti-racist, I am proud to be anti-fascist and I am proud to represent a community to which these ideals form part of its very DNA.”