Some young people share their experience of being black and Irish.
Young black and Irish people told 'Scratch Saturday' about the attitudes and racist comments they have encountered.
Rebecca recalls feeling afraid on her way to and from school as a child and was regularly on the receiving end of racial abuse. This has impacted her adult life, as she does not feel comfortable approaching strangers, or walking along unfamiliar streets at night. She describes how she felt as a young person,
Very isolated, very lonely.
In primary school Curtis Fleming was picked on by other children because of his skin colour. Physical abuse and offensive name calling happened in the school yard, and made him feel different,
Hard to hear when you’re at that age.
Amanda describes looking for rented accommodation and being judged by prospective landladies because of her appearance,
She just took one look at me and said no, it’s gone.
Irish peoples’ ignorance of minorities and the fact that people from minority ethnic backgrounds are brought up in isolation from each other compounded Rebecca’s feelings of isolation,
There is no black culture in Ireland.
This episode of ‘Scratch Saturday’ was broadcast on 24 March 1990.
'Scratch Saturday' was a children's programme which was first broadcast on 23 September 1989 and ran into the nineties. The programme was presented by a team including Mary Kingston, Brian Graham, Brian Reddin, Teresa Smith and Andy Ruane. The programme included music, videos, reviews and issues of interest to young people.
